The CRMSI is concerned with risk management issues in public and social fields. It is dedicated to improving and enhancing the efficiency of risk management work through research into the policy innovations of social organizations, communities, the central government and local areas. The CRMSI has a research team covering diverse disciplines, including public administration, public policy, sociology, anthropology, social work and economics. It has already undertaken many tasks sponsored by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, UNICEF, the Ford Foundation and the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation, among others. The CRMSI also has extensive cooperative partnerships with the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, the University of Hong Kong, Taiwan University, Hong Kong Chinese University and the Institute of Social Policy Research at Tsinghua University.

The members of the CRMSI are also core members of the Wenchuan Earthquake Taskforce (WET), and they organize actively and participate in various tasks carried out by the WET. Meanwhile, the CRMSI serves as the secretary for the Catastrophe Management Initiative (CMI), led by BNU and HKU.