riskinformed

Risk-informed is an approach to decision making and management that explicitly integrates risk information into the evaluation of options and priorities. It combines quantitative risk assessments with qualitative judgments and practical constraints, with the aim of achieving an optimal balance between safety, cost, feasibility, and public acceptance. While the term is used across sectors, it is particularly associated with safety-critical industries such as nuclear power, aviation, and healthcare.

Key elements include identification of hazards, assessment of probability and consequence of adverse events, consideration of uncertainties, and a method for comparing risks against tolerability criteria. Tools frequently employed include probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) and quantitative risk assessment, as well as qualitative risk matrices and scenario analysis. The approach often uses risk ranking to allocate resources, focusing on activities with the greatest potential impact.

In regulatory and governance contexts, risk-informed decision making guides policy development, rulemaking, inspection, and assurance programs. For example, in nuclear safety, a risk-informed regulation process prioritizes safety improvements and inspections based on risk significance, while also considering other factors such as cost and feasibility. The concept is related to ALARP (as low as reasonably practicable) in determining acceptable risk levels.

Benefits include more efficient use of resources, improved transparency, and better alignment with stakeholders’ risk perspectives. Limitations include dependence on data quality, uncertainty in risk estimates, and the need for governance to mitigate bias or gaming of metrics. Overall, risk-informed approaches seek to make decisions more robust by foregrounding risk information alongside broader policy goals.