Risk Governance Ben Smith to Royal College of Surgeons, Frimley - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Risk Governance

Ben Smith

to Royal College of Surgeons, Frimley Park Hospital

Risk

• Risks go hand in hand with Opportunities.

The challenge:

• to enable societies to benefit from change while

minimising the negative consequences of the associated risks. ‘Risk Society’ - Innovations in science, technology and communication have caused societies to experience both an increase in knowledge and a greater awareness of a lack of knowledge.

Governance

Risk Governance

• Applies to the totality of:

actors, rules, conventions, processes and mechanisms…

• how relevant risk information is collected,

analysed and communicated,

• how management decisions are taken.

Risk Governance – A Framework

IRGC Risk Governance Framework, 2008

Getting a broad picture

• f the risk

Risk assessment PLUS Concern assessment Is the risk tolerable, acceptable or unacceptable? Is the risk simple, complex, uncertain

• r ambiguous?

Introducing the IRGC’s Risk Governance Framework

13 | 64

Establish a broad picture of the risk and how to assess and manage it

►What are the risks and opportunities we are addressing? ►What are the various dimensions (causes, targets, scope, scale, etc) of

the risk? How do we define the limits for our evaluations and decisions?

►Do we have indications that there is already a problem? Is there a need to

act now…at all?

►Who are the stakeholders? How do their views affect the definition and

framing of the problem?

►What are the scientific/analytical tools and conventions that can be used to

assess the risks?

►What are the current legal/regulatory systems and how do they potentially

affect the problem and how it is handled?

►What is the organisational capability of the relevant governments,

international organisations, businesses and people involved?

Pre-Appraisal

Risk Communication

Policy makers need:

• knowledge about the physical impacts of technologies,

natural events or human activities

• but also knowledge about the concerns that people

associate with these and other causes of risks. Needing trust in decision makers, people must: 1.accept (adapt to…) 2.manage (reduce, regulate, build resilience…) and/or 3.transfer (insurance) the risk they experience or perceive.

Risk Communication – potential gaps

• Alienating the ‘irrational’ concerns
• One way e.g. “If they receive the information…”
• Low Level of trust

Risk Governance Communications How to:

PREASSESSMENT

• Internal
• Informing other agencies and getting feedback from them

(who is affected and how does it relate to their mandate?)

• External
• Media briefing about process to start
• Inviting stakeholders to provide feedback and framing

suggestions (if risk appears to load high on uncertainty and ambiguity)

Risk Communication at Different Stages (1)

APPRAISAL

• Internal
• Informing the appropriate scientific departments in other

agencies and, if necessary, organize workshops

• External
• Media briefing and announcement to stakeholders that

assessment process is on its way (low complexity)

• Depending on degree of knowledge, press conferences or

press releases on results (high complexity)

• Conducting hearings, Delphi, or other information

gathering techniques with appropriate knowledge carriers (high complexity and uncertainty)

Risk Communication at Different Stages (2)

EVALUATION

• Internal
• Involving all affected agencies if risk characterisation is

either uncertain or evaluation controversial

• External
• Press conferences with assessors and managers on

evaluation results and protective measures (low uncertainty and ambiguity)

• Information of stakeholders and invitation for written

review (high uncertainty and low ambiguity)

• Deliberation with stakeholders about values/perspectives

and assigning trade-offs (high ambiguity)

Risk Communication at Different Stages (3)

Risk Governance Conclusions

• Good risk governance integrates traditional risk analysis with the

thorough understanding of how different stakeholders perceive the risk (“framing” and “concern assessment”)

• Understanding and acting on how different stakeholders frame

the risk is a key factor in the overall success of the process

• Categorising the knowledge about the risk as simple, complex,

uncertain or ambiguous can help:

• select a risk management strategy
• design the process for stakeholder involvement
• Using the results of both risk assessment and concern assessment

can support a tolerability/acceptability judgement that accounts for both scientific facts and people’s perceptions

Risk Governance (NHS background)

Risk Governance Challenges (NHS)

• Feasibility of managing blame culture within -

blame avoidance can create strong incentives for manipulation of risk assessments

• Make little reference to ‘uncertainty’ element

within best practice guidance.

• Subjective and Objective elements  selective?
• Administrative burden or shaping decisions?

Risk Governance example

• Colleges and regulators

coming together

• Consider cultural

challenges (reporting)

• Elements of

precautionary principle (Class III)