Societal Risk Communication—Towards Smart Risk Governance and Safety Management

Abstract

Risk communication has long been thought and conceptualized as based on a centralized model where experts were detaining knowledge and explaining risks to lay persons. Today's risk communication reality is much more complex. It involves a variety of actors, each of them having multiple interests. Safety is one of them, among many others, but is also understood in different ways. However, acknowledging this complexity allows for building upon all risk communication actors' respective inputs to build the overall risk and stake picture and be potentially an active contributor in relation to safety. Eventually, it leads to proposing a smart and open approach to risk governance and safety management. Risk communication has long been considered by institutions and high-risk organizations a controlled and centralized process where knowledge was detained by them and disseminated to the rest of the world to explain and justify decisions they would make on their own.However, times have changed and so has risk communication. Communication means, channels, pace, actors, forums, expectations and inclusion are among the elements that evolved dramatically over the past decade. Can these recent and future risk communication expectations and practices actually contribute to risk governance and safety management practices? If yes, under what conditions?In order to answer these questions, it is worth reviewing the traditional risk communication model to identify its pitfalls or weaknesses and analysing how risk

Disaster risk reduction: Integrating sustainable development goals and occupational safety and health in festival and event management

“…Specialised notification networks should be in place to ensure that the correct information is disseminated through social media and the internet (IRDR 2018). Information circulates quickly and people have multiple sources of information that can be consulted at a moment's notice (Bieder 2018).…”

“…The context of risk communication will differ between situations and events (Bastide 2018). Although a focus on individual safety is paramount to address OSH, the scope of communication needs to be broader to ensure safety at a local community level and inform policy changes (Bieder 2018). A broader scope of safety communication would involve the notification of governments and the broader public (IRDR 2018).…”

“…When the scope of communication is broadened to include the public and the government, it should be observed that each of these stakeholders have multiple and often contrasting interests that could cause tension (Bieder 2018).…”

“…Specialised notification networks should be in place to ensure that the correct information is disseminated through social media and the internet (IRDR 2018 ). Information circulates quickly and people have multiple sources of information that can be consulted at a moment’s notice (Bieder 2018 ). To this end, specialised notification networks should endeavour to counter false news and communication and adapt continuously to the needs of the organisation whilst responding to changing safety needs.…”

“…This ties in directly with Goal 16 and specifically targets 16.6 again, influencing institutions at all levels (UN 2015 ). It is advisable to have a risk communication policy in place before it is required by a change in circumstances that would lead to significant changes in risk (Bieder 2018 ).…”