The role of risk-based thinking in regulatory stewardship

This is a transcript of a key-note lecture in the "Driving Risk-Based Regulation" conference, presented on 24 February 2021. The slides to the presentation are available at the end of the transcript (below). Kia ora. It is my pleasure to kick off today's sessions in this excellent online conference. Since 2013, New Zealand's regulatory agencies … Continue reading The role of risk-based thinking in regulatory stewardship

Exploring issues about regulation – chapter review of the book Regulatory Delivery (on risk-based prioritisation)

In November 2019, Professor Jeroen van der Heijden reviewed briefly the book Regulatory Delivery: Introducing the Regulatory Delivery Model, Graham Russell and Christopher Hodges, editors, (2019), Hart Publishing Oxford, 504 pages. This article is the fourth of a series of brief reviews of chapters from that book. The chapter reviews outline the key themes of … Continue reading Exploring issues about regulation – chapter review of the book Regulatory Delivery (on risk-based prioritisation)

Risk governance and risk-based regulation(6): Epistemic and ethical challenges

We are nearing the end of this series of blog posts on risk governance and risk-based regulation. It builds on a systematic review of over 150 academic publications published between 2009 and 2018. The aim of the series is to introduce those working in a regulatory environment to the key concepts of risk governance and … Continue reading Risk governance and risk-based regulation(6): Epistemic and ethical challenges

Risk governance and risk-based regulation(5): Evidence of the performance of risk governance and risk-based regulation

Now that we have a better understanding of the foundations of risk governance and risk-based regulation and have looked at some examples of its application, it is time to ask the hard question: does it work? Answering that question is all but easy. By and large the debate of risk governance and risk-based regulation is … Continue reading Risk governance and risk-based regulation(5): Evidence of the performance of risk governance and risk-based regulation

Risk governance and risk-based regulation(4): Frameworks for high-occurrence/low-impact risks, the precautionary principle, and benefit-cost analyses

In the previous blog post, I have addressed the holistic framework of the International Risk Governance Council (IRGC) as a blueprint for regulators interested in this approach to regulation, or as a check-list for those who already have risk governance in place. Here I discuss frameworks that focus on high-occurrence but low-impact risks; and, frameworks … Continue reading Risk governance and risk-based regulation(4): Frameworks for high-occurrence/low-impact risks, the precautionary principle, and benefit-cost analyses

Risk governance and risk-based regulation(3): The International Risk Governance Council Framework

Inspired by the insights from risk studies, governments around the world have begun to develop and implement risk governance and risk-based regulation. Following these developments, scholars have begun to map, explore and interrogate risk governance models and strategies, risk-based regulatory approaches and instruments, and their performance. There appears no area where governments have not trialled … Continue reading Risk governance and risk-based regulation(3): The International Risk Governance Council Framework

Risk governance and risk-based regulation(2): The evolution of risk

It is safe to say that humankind has always been subject to risk. For long, however, humans have considered risk along the lines of fate and determinism. Our ancient ancestors thought of risk as something they could not influence. Their future was either set in stone, regulated by the forces of nature, or regulated by … Continue reading Risk governance and risk-based regulation(2): The evolution of risk

Risk governance and risk-based regulation(1): A review of the international academic literature

Previously, the use of insights from the behavioural sciences in regulatory practice had a central focus on this blog. This has resulted in a series of blog posts (episode 1, episode 2, episode 3, and episode 4) and a research paper discussing the core insights from the international academic literature on this topic published between … Continue reading Risk governance and risk-based regulation(1): A review of the international academic literature

Brief book review – Risk Management and Governance: Concepts, Guidelines and Applications

Terje Aven and Ortwin Renn, 2010, Springer, 276 pages. Professor Terje Aven (University of Stavanger) and Professor Ortwin Renn (Potsdam Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies) are two leading risk theorists and (regulatory) researchers. They have been studying risk, risk governance and risk management for well over two decades. In Risk Management and Governance: Concepts, Guidelines … Continue reading Brief book review – Risk Management and Governance: Concepts, Guidelines and Applications

Brief book review – Risk Regulation and Administrative Constitutionalism

Elizabeth Fisher, 2010, Hart Publishing, 290 pages. Professor Elizabeth Fisher (University of Oxford) presents a fresh reading of and engagement with the risk governance and risk regulation literature in Risk Regulation and Administrative Constitutionalism. Her starting point is that too often this literature is concerned with either the democratic decision-making process or the scientific decision-making … Continue reading Brief book review – Risk Regulation and Administrative Constitutionalism