The EPFL International Risk Governance Center (IRGC) is an interdisciplinary unit dedicated to extending knowledge about the increasingly complex, uncertain and ambiguous risks that affect society. We develop risk governance strategies that focus on involving all key stakeholder groups, including citizens, governments, businesses and academia.
Our work is rooted in the IRGC Risk Governance Framework, as well as subsequent frameworks that we developed to apply more specifically to the governance of emerging and systemic risks. We assess how these frameworks can be applied to a wide range of specific risk domains, and in recent years we have focused increasingly on risks associated with emerging technologies.
The following are among the areas we are currently working on:
- Climate engineering
- Digital technology and governance (TRIGGER H2020)
- Deepfakes
- Low-carbon transition risks
- Precision medicine
- Space debris
- Synthetic biology
- Nanotechnology (NANORIGO H2020)
- Resilience
To learn more about our work, you can read our annual reports from 2016-2020.
News and current activities
2020 Annual report
IRGC’s 2020 annual report highlights work done throughout the previous year on topics such as climate engineering, digitalisation and COVID-19, and looks ahead to upcoming projects in 2021.
New Spotlight on risk article
Our newest article, “Using “proof of personhood” to tackle social media risks” looks at the tension between online anonymity and accountability, and the societal risks it leads to.
IRGC News
Read the latest news, insights, presentations and media coverage about the EPFL International Risk Governance Center.
Key links
Concepts and frameworks
At the core of IRGC work is a series of governance frameworks, which provide guidance in areas such as risk assessment, emerging and systemic risks, and resilience-building.
Specific risk domains
With a view to filling risk-governance deficits in important sectors, IRGC regularly convenes interdisciplinary expert groups to identify key risks and possible responses.
Publications
IRGC produces a wide range of publications, covering both our overarching governance frameworks as well as the outcomes of our work in specific risk domains.
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