In light of headline-grabbing global public health challenges, risk managers are once again in the spotlight–especially those in the public sector. Like their counterparts in private industry, public sector risk managers are charged with finding effective ways to identify and quantify exposures, as well as a means to mitigate and finance them.

As demonstrated by the H1N1 flu outbreak, for example, effective public sector risk management processes are proving essential to managing and containing the pandemic. Public health officials and agencies have led the way in coordinating the response and in helping to mitigate the risks to communities in the United States and overseas.

At the same time, risk managers working for public entities also must contend with a number of other factors that influence their risk management strategies–and, ultimately, their ability to manage risk effectively.