In the late 1990s: Heightened levels of public concern about the management of risks
With the cumulative impact of several crises, the speed of technological change and an increase in the frequency and severity of natural disasters, society’s perception was that policymakers were ‘losing control’ over a number of risks. This anxiety compounded concerns over the difficulties facing governments and regulators involved in risk management, and increased public expectation for more effectiveness. The knowledge community was also encountering difficulties in meeting the demands for factual certainty and in communicating knowledge, as well as uncertainty, to the decision-making community.
2003: the Swiss State Secretariat for Education & Research decides to establish IRGC
From 2003 – 2012, the State Secretariat, led by Dr. Charles Kleiber (chairman of the Board of IRGC 2010 – 2012) financially supported IRGC as a multi-stakeholder and neutral convening platform for policy makers, scientists and the private sector to discuss the challenges of risk governance. SER was joined by several other public and private organisations that shared the same concern, and conviction that many risks should be ‘governed’ (i.e. not simply ‘managed’ or ‘controlled’).
2012: IRGC is hosted by EPFL. On the pulse of world class scientific research and technology
2016: EPFL establishes the International Risk Governance Center
2023: Governing emerging and neglected risks in an interconnected world
Recent events confirm that the issue of risk governance remains of the utmost importance. Losses, both in human lives and economic value, continue to increase in the face of disaster risk, outbreak of new viruses, or as consequences of the fragility of critical infrastructures. Global risks also derive from concerns about developing sustainable sources of energy and from the impacts of climate change. All such risks have rippling effects and secondary impacts that far exceed the capacity of individual governments to manage them. This reinforces the need for an organisation such as IRGC to develop governance strategies with global validity.
Learn more about some of the methods and issues we work with.