As we begin to emerge from the pandemic, most business leaders, including those at the helm of state and local governments, are seeking ways to learn from this experience and to strengthen their level of preparedness for the next risk management crisis. In fact, the authors' recent research finds that a strong majority of organizations (73 percent) report that there will be significant changes in their approach to continuity planning and crisis management processes. These levels are even higher for state and local governments and nonprofits. Some organizations are realizing that their approach to managing risks is woefully lacking in robustness and maturity.

Building on the reality that managing risks will remain challenging for all organizations, this article includes insights from the authors' ongoing work to formulate a six-step guide. State and local government leaders can use this guide to refresh their organization’s risk oversight capabilities to be ready for the inevitable next crisis, before it happens.

• Publication date: August 2021
• Authors: Mark Beasley, Al Chen, and Ericka Kranitz