Society for Risk Analysis (SRA) - Europe conference

 
21-23 June 2010
 
The School of Social Science & Public Policy hosted the 19th Society of Risk Analysis - Europe conference in June 2010. Over three days, close to 300 delegates participated in the most ambitious SRAE conference mounted so far, which included 15 plenary speakers and 50 parallel sessions and discussions on the broad theme of ‘Risk, Governance & Accountability’. The participants came from many European countries but also from further afield including the USA, Korea and Australia.
 
The Society for Risk Analysis was founded in response to the need for an interdisciplinary society which would address emerging issues in risk analysis, management and policy. It operates world-wide with International Sections in North America, Europe and Japan. King’s is a leading institution for both teaching and research on the topic of risk, with a Centre for Risk Management and a Hazards and Risk Group housed in SSPP, so hosting this conference was a natural partnership. The conference was organized by Professor Ragnar Lofstedt and Dr Henry Rothstein of the Department of Geography, with the generous support of the Food Standards Agency, Environment Agency and the Health and Safety Executive.
 
The conference’s theme reflected the increasing importance of risk analysis to decision-making in contemporary policy and organisational contexts “The financial crisis, the Gulf oil spill, and the eruption of an Icelandic volcano are just some recent examples of the seemingly regular societal and environmental crises that have put risk analysis centre stage as decision-makers are put under pressure to account for their actions and outcomes” said Dr Henry Rothstein.
 
Delegates observed and participated in five outstanding plenary sessions with eminent academics and policy makers that picked up on different aspects of the conference theme: Risk Governance and Precaution (Jonathan Weiner, Nick Pidgeon and Ethel Forsberg); Science, Risk and the Public (Baruch Fischhoff, Alan Irwin, and David Demeritt); Risk Management and Regulation in the 21st century: Lessons for Europe (Geoffrey Podger, Steve Wearne, Mikael Karlsson); Finance, Risk and Governance (Michael Power, Steve Priddy, and Jon Danielsson); Accounting for Risk Based Governance (W.Kip Viscusi; Julia Black and Ronan Palmer).
 
Professor Denise Lievesley, Head of SSPP, expressed her great satisfaction with the conference organisation following compliments from many participants. She stated that “King’s College has been very pleased to host this meeting which has provided a platform for industrialists, policy makers and academics to discuss the current and future directions of this ‘science of uncertainty’. It is vital to understand concerns about risk from both public and scientific perspectives in order to promote efficient risk mitigation and to develop effective communication about hazards."