The Association for Public Risk Managers

PRIMA

The Public Risk Management Association (PRIMA) is a “one-stop resource for educational programming, risk resources and networking opportunities for public sector risk managers” (About PRIMA, 2018). The Association is guided by a list of core competencies that shape PRIMA’s strategy for providing assistance to risk managers in the public sector. The core competencies that PRIMA focuses on are: 1) public risk management skills, 2) public administration and general business skills, and 3) critical thinking and interpersonal skills. Within each of these competency areas are subcategories and key topics, all of which help the Association to promote professional development, educate leadership, and determine PRIMA members’ educational and training needs.

The mission of PRIMA is to help managers in public administration to better achieve risk management in order to serve the public interest. PRIMA is the largest public sector risk management association, serving more than 1200 member entity groups. Its headquarters is in Alexandria, Virginia. Members of the Association engage in a number of activities, such as the coordination of risk management, the purchasing of insurance, the managing of human resources, the administration of safety and environmental programs, the managing of labor issues, the handling of parks and recreations programs, and many other activities. The Association provides members with a complete and coherent code of ethics to help guide members in their activities, and it also provides a standard for professional conduct.

PRIMA also publishes a professional magazine entitled Public Risk, which is issued 10 times a year and is considered to be the “flagship publication of the association” (Public Risk Magazine, 2018). The magazine offers a variety of articles on different subjects related to public risk. Articles in the April 2018 edition of Public Risk include for example: “Falsely Accused and NOT in the Wrong? Fleet Safety Practices to Save Time and Money” and “Data-Charged Risk Mitigation in Schools.” The purpose of this publication is to ensure that public risk managers have access to up-to-date material that offers timely, risk-focused information for the risk manager on the go. The articles written for the publication typically come from real-life risk managers within the industry who have years of experience and offer a comprehensive viewpoint on matters that are important for professionals in the industry. Topics covered by the publication include trends in risk management, risk management processes and appropriate guidelines, alterations to laws and upcoming legislation, and numerous other areas pertinent to the realm of public risk management.

For professionals in the field of public administration, PRIMA is a great source of information that provides current and essential data on everything related to public risk management. PRIMA aims to be the number one source of information on public risk management for educational programs. It also has as one of its main goals the aim of advancing public risk administration and establishing relationships among PRIMA and stakeholders in public risk managements. This is one of the association’s most important objectives, as it brings individuals within public administration together in a network that focuses on the needs of public risk managers. Indeed, another aim of PRIMA is to identify needs of the public risk management community—especially needs that have not been met in the past. By identifying unmet aims, the association aims to provide support and guidance for risk managers.