Risk management in the public sector: challenges in its adoption by Brazilian federal universities

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to analyze the perception of the members of the risk committees of federal universities in Brazil regarding the challenges in the adoption of risk management in those institutions. Currently, federal universities are obliged by law to manage their risks. This is a recent process that presents them with considerable challenges, which have scarcely been explored. Studying the challenges in adopting risk management enables federal universities to gradually improve their overall management, with the aim of adopting the process in the best way possible. This study contributes to the professional and academic areas by proposing a set of actions within the operational context of the universities to improve the maturity level of the risk management of those institutions. The procedure adopted was a survey covering 68 federal universities in operation in 2019. The quantitative study was based on a questionnaire sent to the public servants on their governance, risk, and control committees, which had a 73% response rate. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and position and dispersion measures. Perception was analyzed regarding the challenges arising from the adoption of risk management, in which a lack of process mapping, the need for staff engagement and training, the emergence of divergences concerning the treatment of risk, and excess demands on staff were highlighted. The evidence indicated that risk management can guarantee and facilitate compliance with laws, regulations, norms, and standards, as well as the identification of external scenarios that can influence the occurrence of events that negatively impact not only the universities but the whole community.