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 involve all key stakeholder groups, including citizens, governments, businesses and academia.
Our work is rooted in the IRGC Risk Governance Framework, as well as subsequent guidelines that were developed to more specifically address the challenges posed by governance of emerging and systemic risks. We apply these guidelines 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
- Space debris
- Nanotechnology (NANORIGO H2020)
- Resilience
To learn more about our work, you can read our annual reports from 2016-2020 and subscribe to our newsletter.
News and current activities
New book on synthetic biology from IRGC workshop
The new book, “Emerging Threats of Synthetic Biology and Biosecurity”, is part of the NATO Science for Peace and Security series, and comes from the outcomes of an IRGC expert workshop.
A risk-risk assessment framework for Solar Radiation Modification
In our latest Spotlight on risk, guest authors from the Carnegie Climate Governance Initiative present a framework to inform decisions about solar radiation modification (SRM).
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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