Custom Risk Management Training

Build an Action Plan

Whether your program is small or large, wilderness-based or study abroad, you have a responsibility to your staff and participants to invest in risk management planning. Building a comprehensive risk management plan can feel daunting. Our goal is to provide you with a structured approach and tools to build a risk management plan appropriate for your organization. At NOLS, we’ve spent more than 55 years managing risk in wilderness environments around the world, and we’re always learning. Join us to connect and share your valuable experience with peer programs, and let us share our experience and lessons learned with you.

• Learn a structured approach to designing a risk management plan.
• Analyze your approach to risk oversight; risk-mission alignment and activity selection; staff hiring and training; equipment, food, and transportation; and emergency and crisis planning.
• Participate in exercises to help you evaluate your approach to staffing, contracting, and serious incident response.
• Learn effective practices and dialog with peer organizations.

Course Topics:

• Introduction, Goals, and Objectives
• Risk Management Oversight
• Risk-Mission Alignment
• Activity Selection
• Marketing
• Enrollment Materials and Participant Agreement
• Accepted Behaviors and Expulsion Policies
• Health Review
• Subcontractors
• Program Evaluation and Incident Review
• Staff Hiring
• Policies, Practices, and Procedures
• Staff Training
• Equipment/Food
• Transportation
• Medical Treatment
• Program Planning Case Study
• Emergency Incident
• Emergency Response Plans
• Crisis and Media Plans
• Program Review Exercise
• Action Planning for Your Organization

Tools and Resources

• Risk Management Action Plan Workbook.
• NOLS Crisis Management Template and NOLS Wilderness Medicine Protocol Package.
• Resource examples and templates, including a risk release, health form, orientation checklist, transportation policy, and more.

Course Structure
Online courses take place over three days between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Mountain time each day. The online course format utilizes a combination of independent work and Zoom meetings with instructors and participants.

Skills Learned: Organization or program-level risk management
Certifications: Certificate of Completion