At the risk strategy and planning stage, the risk manager’s primary responsibility is to define the risk management processes and tools to be used for the project. This is foundational and comes before identifying individual risks or updating communication plans.

"The first step in risk management planning is to define how to conduct risk management activities, including processes, tools, and techniques that will be used on the project."

— PMBOK® Guide, 6th Edition, Section 11.1 (Plan Risk Management)

ISO 31000 similarly emphasizes that the establishment of the risk management context, processes, and tools is critical at the planning stage, especially for projects involving multiple stakeholders and locations.