Over the last decade public sector agencies have expanded their risk management practices, yet they have not kept pace with the global risk landscape, which now entails a wider range of more complex risks that hit harder, come faster, are interconnected, and bring more profound disruptions. Public sector agencies need to expand and enhance their approach to risk—applying Group 1 best practices from the private sector to become far more anticipatory, proactive, and risk- intelligent. We interviewed former and current government employees intimately involved in risk management at large US agencies with national or global missions, including both defense and non-defense. A common theme emerged: while most are doing admirable work, they oen apply a defensive, reactive risk management that rarely considers broader strategic risks that can impact their objectives and create significant disruptions. They also overwhelmingly view risk as a negative, thereby missing the opportunity side of the coin where they may take calculated risks to advance their strategic objectives.

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