Implementing Enterprise Risk Management: Case Studies and Best Practices

CHAPTER 15 Embedding ERM into Strategic Planning at the City of Edmonton

KEN BAKER

ERM Program Manager at the City of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

To me, the only good reason to take a risk is that there's a decent possibility of a reward that outweighs the hazard. Exploring the edge of the universe and pushing the boundaries of human knowledge and capability strike me as pretty significant rewards, so I accept the risks of being an astronaut, but with an abundance of caution: I want to understand them, manage them, and reduce them as much as possible.

—Commander Chris Hadfield¹

The Administration of the City of Edmonton in 2012–2013 explored ways to implement enterprise risk management (ERM), with a focus on strategic risk.

Previous attempts at ERM were not fully implemented, but a new opportunity arose when Edmonton created a new strategic plan, The Way Ahead, in 2008. With the strategic plan and goals well established, they required risk analysis to determine what could prevent the city from achieving its goals and objectives, and how to allocate scarce resources most effectively to mitigate risks to achieving those goals and objectives.

The City Administration hired an Enterprise Risk Management Program Manager in 2012 to address the need to implement ERM at a strategic level.

After studying several models and frameworks for addressing risk, and conducting pilot workshops for two of the six directional plans that supported the strategic plan, The Way Ahead, the ERM Program ...