Risk Communication

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Risk Communication

• Ortwin Renn
• University of Stuttgart
• And DIALOGIK gGmbH

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Part 1

• Why Risk Communication?
• The Context of Risk Communication

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Objectives of Risk Communication

• Enlightenment Making people able to understand
  risks and become risk-literate
• Behavioral changes Making people aware of
  potential risks and help them to take protective
  actions
• Trust building Assisting risk management
  agencies to generate and sustain trust
• Conflict resolution Assisting risk managers to
  involve major stakeholders and affected parties
  to take part in the risk management process

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Relevance of Risk Communication

• Health and Safety are top concerns of people in
  industrial countries
• People demand more information and transparency
  on decisions that affect their welfare
• Trust in traditional decision makers is low and
  replaced by demand of participation
• Risk communication is legally demanded in many
  countries

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Important Contextual Aspects

• Types of audiences
• Peripheral versus central
• Cultural subgroups entrepreneurial, egalitarian,
  bureaucratic, individualistic
• Sociopolitical climate and style
• Adversarial, consensual, corporatist and
  fiduciary
• Levels of risk debates
• linear, complex, uncertain but uncontested risks,
  uncertain and ambiguous risks

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Part 2

• Some basics of communication

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Some Major Insights from Research

• Risk communication starts with an excellent
  record of risk management
• Risk communicators need to specify in advance
• Purpose of risk communication (orientation,
  behavioral advise, involvement)
• Level of risk debate (routine, uncertain but
  uncontested, highly contested)
• Types of audiences to be approached
• Available risk communication resources and
  channels
• Follow-up after the risk communication program is
  completed
• Design for evaluation

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Some Major Insights II

• Risk communication needs to address
• Difference between risk and hazard
• Difference between random event and faulty
  behavior
• The process of risk management decision making
• The trade-offs and value conflicts when making
  risk management or regulatory decisions (incl.
  benefits)
• The meaning of standards and the respective
  protective goal behind them
• Trust and credibility cannot be produced or
  manufactured but only earned in terms of
  performance and effective communication

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Communication Needs of Targeted Audiences

• Regulators risk management options experts
  assessments input from stakeholders and the
  public about their preferences
• Experts data base treatment of uncertainty
  rationale for risk evaluations
• Industry performance data, expert judgments
  liability issues regulatory actions
• Environmental groups data on hazards,
  performance records of users case studies
  issues of equity and env. justice

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Communication Needs of the Media and the Public

• Media events signs of dissent and conflict,
  link to human (mis)behavior
• Consumers hazard information personal risks,
  link to personal interests and values
• Bystanders issues of fairness and equity link
  to societal values and visions signs of blame
  and guilt

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Summary

• Risk communication serves the needs of
  enlightenment, behavioral advise trust building
  and conflict resolution
• Risk communication needs to address complexity,
  uncertainty and ambiguity
• There is no recipe book, but good advise
  available to improving risk communication
• Risk communication must be sensitive to context,
  audience and topic
• Risk communication is a necessary complement to
  both risk assessment and management