Risk Worksheet

The purpose of this worksheet is to help Registered Student Organizations (1) identify risks arising from their activities and (2) figure out how to minimize or eliminate those risks. But it can be used by anyone planning an event or other activity.

Here's how it works. For each event,  think about what can go wrong and lead to:

  1. Bodily injuries
  2. Personal injuries (i.e. psychological or emotional injuries, such as discriminatory behavior)
  3. Property damage
  4. Legal risks (violations of the law that may not involve bodily injury or property damage, such as speeding while driving)
  5. Financial risks (such as costs associated with cancellation of an event)
  6. Reputational risks (something that might make your organization look bad) and
  7. Any other risks, examples of which include cyber-risk (if you're collecting personal information for a database) and medical risk (if your organization holds an event that includes a medically invasive service)

List the specific risks for each Area of Risk in the second column. Then list what you'll do to minimize or eliminate those risks in the third column. It doesn't take very long, and it gives you a risk mitigation plan that can be used to prevent losses and show the world you've put thought and care into your activity.

A few words of advice. Every activity has risks, so don't let their existence discourage you; instead, figure out how to constructively address them.  List only the most likely risks; the risk universe is infinite, and if you seek to address every possible risk your task will be neverending. And remember that not every activity will have a risk in each category; for instance, a softball game typically won't present any personal injury risks -- unless, say, you deliberately exclude a class of participants, such as women.

 Event Risk Worksheet

Area of Risk

Specific Risks

Controls

Bodily Injury

Personal Injury

Property Damage

Legal

If you have questions, contact Risk Services at risk@berkeley.edu or 642-5141.