Helping Public Entities Better Manage Legal Risks is Focus of Research Collaboration

The RAND Institute for Civil Justice and the Public Entity Risk Institute have partnered to conduct research that will help cities, universities and other public entities better manage legal risks, organization officials announced today.

Under the agreement, RAND Corporation staff will conduct research using a database maintained by the Public Entity Risk Institute that includes information about public entity workers' compensation claims, judgments and legal exposures, as well as details about other legal liability issues faced by public entities.

RAND and the Public Entity Risk Institute hope to break new ground in research related to the understanding of the unique risks associated with public entities. New, objective analysis using solid data will improve the risk management abilities of public entities, officials say.

The Public Entity Risk Institute (PERI) is a nonprofit research institute that develops risk management education and training resources for local governments, school districts, small businesses, nonprofits and others. PERI's Web site serves as a clearinghouse and library with information on a wide range of topics including disaster preparedness, response, and recovery; public health and safety; land use and planning; environmental liability; risk financing and insurance; technology risks; and workers' compensation. To learn more about publications and services available from PERI, go to www.riskinstitute.org.

The RAND Institute for Civil Justice helps make the civil justice system more efficient and equitable by supplying government leaders, private decision-makers and the public with the results of objective, empirically based, analytic research.