Beyond Statistics and Technology - Risk Handling in a Decision-Maker's Perspective

Oestberg, G. (1991). Beyond Statistics and Technology - Risk Handling in a Decision-Maker's Perspective. IIASA Working Paper. IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria: WP-91-041

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Abstract

Studies of high-level decision-makers considering societal risks have demonstrated that their ways of actually dealing with such issues do not conform very closely to the normative pattern emerging from conventional risk analyses. The scientific concept of risk does not appear to be very useful in this context. The decision-makers are less concerned about information and knowledge than about problems related to polarized opinions among those affected by risks, surprises, mistakes, contradictions and other transscientific phenomena. Improvements of so-called decision support for high-level decision-making on societal risk need the application of perspectives other than those adopted in most conventional risk analyses. What is required are changes in attitude and mentality in order to be able to really care for the decision-makers. In the end, what really matters is values, interests and will of persons.

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