Supporting non-experts in judging the credibility of risk assessments (CORA)

Abstract

One of the crucial communication issues that have to be tackled by risk assessors is how to provide a comprehensible and informative characterization of their findings. The CORA framework (CORA stands for credibility of risk assessment) is designed for helping non-experts in judging the credibility of risk assessments. The CORA framework can be used by (1) stakeholders and policy makers, to make an educated judgment about the credibility of an assessment, and (2) the authors of a risk assessment, to improve the evaluability of their reports. The CORA framework consists of 18 criteria, leading to six main recommendations. The framework's application is not limited to (EMF) risk assessment, for which it was originally developed, but can be used in any area of risk or hazard assessment.

How to assess seriousness? A new tool to help non-experts evaluate published information using a sample text on Electromagnetic Fields (EMF)

“…Consequently, transparency and a sufficient offer of information represent essential elements of every publication [1].…”

“…A mass of surveys and science-based reports on these issues are publicly available in the print media, on television and on the Internet at all times. In spite of this widespread information, the majority of the population usually feels poorly informed [1].…”

“…can also be found (study reports, opinions of organizations and initiatives) [1]. Regrettably, some journals even seem to publish lesser-quality work and errors [6].…”

Assessing interdependent operational, tactical and strategic risks for improved utility master plans

“…We suggest that the influence diagram should be revised with the same frequency as that of the utility master plan (in EPAL: every 10 years), whereas the efficacy, vulnerability and criticality of the barriers should be challenged within a one to three year period. We highlight that the influence diagram enables the process to be transparent and repeatable under the same basis of analysis, which is a proxy for its credibility (Wiedemann et al, 2013;Food and Agriculture Organisation and World Health Organisation, 2009;International Standards Organisation, 2009;Hokstad and Steiro, 2006).…”

White paper on the promotion of an integrated risk assessment concept in European regulatory frameworks for chemicals

“…Integration of social science in the whole process could support communication of RA results to increase RA credibility, to reach agreement, to demonstrate elimination of biases by appropriately weighting different kinds of evidence, and to communicate uncertainty, contributing to drive a more efficient and sustainable use of risk management resources. Approaches such as "Evidence maps" and the framework CORA ("COmmunicating health Risk Assessments to the general public") have been proposed as potential instruments to support such needs (Wiedemann et al, 2011(Wiedemann et al, , 2013. Stakeholder participation can help to define scenarios and population exposed but a tiered approach is suggested so that the process does not become too complex to operate.…”