Learn how individuals perceive and understand risks and master the tools to communicate risk information effectively to help people make better decisions in the face of risks. This course provides an introduction to how people perceive and understand risks in their everyday lives and how to communicate risk information to help people make better decisions.
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Taught by an experienced team from the LRF Institute for the Public Understanding of Risk at the National University of Singapore, supplemented by interviews with leading international experts in the field, the course is designed to be accessible to professionals, practitioners, researchers and tertiary students involved or interested in risk communication.
The Understanding and Communicating Risk course makes extensive use of case studies to bring the issues to life and shows how fundamental concepts and research findings can be employed to practical challenges of risk communication. Learners on the course are given opportunities to apply their learning through engaging exercises based on real-world cases.
What you'll learn
Learners will gain an understanding of:
- How to interpret risk information to make better informed decisions and manage risks in everyday situations
- The language and metrics of risk assessment to convey risk accurately to stakeholders
- The factors that shape people's risk perceptions
- What people around the world consider their top risks right now, based on the latest research
- How to gather information about public risk perceptions
- Key lessons from decades of research and experience in communicating risks
- Methods to design and evaluate effective risk communications
- Application of understanding and communicating risks in the health, climate and technology sectors
Syllabus
Week 1: Key concepts
Introduction to risk, uncertainty, cumulative risk, key metrics of risk assessment and identification of risks.
Week 2: Risk perceptions
Factors that shape public perceptions of risk.
Week 3. Risk communication
Covers the range of objectives, approaches, channels and message framings.
Week 4: Health
Risk perception and communication in the field of public health.
Week 5: Climate & environment
Risk perception and communication relating to climate change, natural hazards and environmental pollution.
Week 6: Technology
Applications of risk perceptions and communications concepts to cases of new and established technologies.
Week 7: Individual project
