Most institutions have many preservation needs that require a variety of actions to meet.
Resources in an institution are always limited and every action cannot be accomplished. It is crucial to determine which actions are the most important so that those receive consideration first. Prioritizing is the process of deciding which actions will have the most significant impact, which are the most important, and which are the most feasible. Systems of risk assessment and management are being developed. These offer a highly pragmatic approach as is required by the large and diverse natural history collections for which they were first developed.