Ask the Experts

U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) Strategic Plan

OGE is pleased to present its Strategic Plan for fiscal years 2022 through 2026. The Plan reflects OGE’s ongoing commitment to its important mission of preventing conflicts of interest in the executive branch. The Plan recognizes that consistency, accountability, leadership, and transparency are vital to the success of that mission. The Plan highlights OGE’s ongoing commitment to make ethics documents publicly available and a new commitment to reach a broader array of stakeholders to raise awareness of the systems and processes in place to detect and resolve conflicts of interest. OGE will use the Plan to determine its future work, set priorities, and measure success.

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A Conversation with Tom Brandt, Chief Risk Officer, U.S. Internal Revenue Service

What are benefits of pursuing enterprise risk management? How can risk management enhance agency decision-making? What is the mission of the Association for Federal Enterprise Risk Management (AFERM)? Join host Michael Keegan as he explores these questions and more with our very special guest, Tom Brandt, Chief Risk Officer, at the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

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On Managing Risk in Government – A Research Portfolio

Risk is everywhere.

It is a condition of existence and government agencies aren’t immune from the slings and arrows of uncertainty. Risk takes many forms and continue to morph and transform with the pace of technology and the reality interconnectedness. It is a leadership imperative for government executives to mitigate the potency of uncertainty by managing the realities of risk and the IBM Center can help them…mitigate risk and make better decisions. Tackling risks requires the right tools and recognized best practices. Dr. Karen Hardy’s report outlines the fundamentals of enterprise risk management ERM in government…answering the how to and the why not? The first step in tackling risk is defining it and it isn’t always negative. Risk can present opportunities. Government Leaders can redefine risk as “uncertainty that matters” and Dr. Doug Webster and Tom Stanton can show you how… outlining practical steps to improving decision making using ERM. Many federal programs are at risk unable or incapable to achieving missions mitigating program risk is key to making government work better. Prof Donald Kettl report, provides a guide of steps risky federal programs can take to manage risk, improve results. Whether you face …. Integrity Risk Financial Risk Cyber Risks Or, risks associated with technological breakthroughs and disruptions…

This video provides an overview of many IBM Center for The Business of Government resources on risk.

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Risk Management in the AI Era: Navigating the Opportunities and Challenges of AI Tools in the Public Sector

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has moved into the mainstream of businesses and government.

Business leaders are rushing to take advantages of the benefits that can be brought to a wide array of industries to help increase productivity. Government leaders are also moving forward, but with appropriate caution. When considering the use and application of AI related technologies, government leaders weigh different factors than their private sector counterparts. Whether it is deploying self-driving electric trolleys in a city or retrofitting city streetlights with sensors to make them “smarter,” these leaders must address issues of accountability, transparency, ethics, equity, common good, effectiveness, efficiency, managerial capacity, and political legitimacy.

The report authors put forth a threefold strategy to assist government leaders and public managers with how best to approach using AI, which includes:

  • reviews of prior federal government studies on the use and application of AI. These reports reflect a number of important issues for agencies and stakeholders to consider as they begin incorporating AI; the studies also highlight the government’s broad risk management approach to AI
  • a risk management framework for when and how government can and should consider using AI tools, how to use these tools, and which organizational tasks and decisions may benefit from the use of AI
  • case studies of two innovative uses of AI tools to help manage risks from local governments: the City of Syracuse, New York, and the City of Bryan, Texas.

The authors close with a list of practical guidelines for government action in using AI tools to improve the overall quality of governance, while incorporating similar tools into their overall risk management strategy.

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Decision Making Framework — Risk Acceptance Form and Tool (RAFT)

The purpose of this form is to provide a consistent framework for the Service that can be leveraged within a unit’s existing governance or management approval processes to clearly document business decisions in the context of risk appetite and/or acceptance. This document can be used in various ways, including the following:

1) a framework to assess various options in making decisions for achievement of objectives,

2) a guide to articulate rationale behind those decisions within the context of risk appetite, and

3) a documentation trail to support these business decisions. Refer to the end of this document for instructions and additional guidance regarding use of the tool.

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For this tool, right-click and save the document to your computer for full use.

The Orange Book 2020

Management of Risks – Principles and Concepts (from the UK)

In successful organisations, risk management enhances strategic planning and prioritisation, assists in achieving objectives and strengthens the ability to be agile to respond to the challenges faced. If we are serious about meeting objectives successfully, improving service delivery and achieving value for money, risk management must be an essential and integral part of planning and decision-making. While risk practices have improved over time across government, the volatility, complexity and ambiguity of our operating environment has increased, as have demands for greater transparency and accountability for managing the impact of risks. This updated guidance builds on the previous Orange Book to help improve risk management further and to embed this as a routine part of how we operate.

The Orange Book Update

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“Risk Appetite” Statement – USAID (June 2018)

The purpose of the Risk Appetite Statement (hereinafter “Statement”) is to provide USAID (or “Agency”) staff with broad-based guidance on the amount and type of risk the Agency is willing to accept – based on an evaluation of opportunities and threats at an organizational level, and in key risk categories – to achieve the Agency’s mission and objectives. The Statement is a critical component in USAID’s overall effort to achieve effective Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), and the leadership of the Agency reviews and updates the Statement annually as the ERM program matures and needs evolve.
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