A Risk Lens on Governance

By Karl Salgo

December, 2014

The discussion paper “A Risk Lens on Governance” by the IOG examines the importance of incorporating risk management into public sector governance, particularly focusing on governance-related risks that often go under-recognized. The paper emphasizes that while risk management practices have improved, they often remain focused at the enterprise level and overlook broader, systemic governance risks such as policy misalignment, accountability failures, and loss of legitimacy. It argues that public sector organizations—due to their autonomy and interconnectedness—must adopt a coordinated, multi-level approach to risk that extends beyond individual agencies to the whole of government. Using frameworks from the Government of Ontario and Canada, the IOG outlines standard risk management processes and challenges unique to the public sector, such as ambiguous success metrics and shifting political leadership. The paper calls for clearer identification of governance risks, improved cross-organizational communication, and orientation for senior leaders to strengthen public sector resilience and ensure alignment with overarching governmental objectives.