Mission and Terms of Reference
of the
Committee on Risk Analysis in the International Statistical Institute
(Based on the Basic Sheet of Committee of the ISI Ad hoc Committee on Risk Analysis, 2000)
Scope and Aims
The Committee on Risk Analysis in the International Statistical Institute (ISI-CRA) is charged to improve and expand the role of statistics in risk analysis by addressing theory and methodology which transcends avenues of applications that cover the broad scope of risk assessment and management in life sciences and public health, sciences of the environment and behaviour, economics and finance, industrial risks, adversarial risks and issues of societal security.
Specific interests include
- the identification of hazards, quantification of risks including susceptibility and risk modifiers, and assessment of exposures
- the investigation of statistical issues of uncertainty and variability using principles of statistical science
- use of statistical science for understanding hazardous processes and for developing measures for management and prevention
The ISI-CRA sets high priority in activities which
- provide a forum for statisticians and others to discuss common problems and interests to the identification and quantification of risk
- foster and stimulate interactions, relevant and related to the role of risk analysis amongst people involved in professional activities that could benefit from risk analysis and to facilitate the transfer of useful information and tools to theses individuals
- encourage cooperation among governments in data collection and other statistical aspects of risk problems that are international in scope
- improve and strengthen the role of risk analysis in the management of risks
- work toward harmonization of terminology, concepts, and classification in the study and presentation of statistical findings related to risk
- stimulate, sponsor, or support cutting edge conferences on specific aspects of risk analysis that are of statistical interest
- submit proposals for Invited Paper Meetings on Risk Analysis to the ISI Session scientific programme of ISI bi-annual meetings and elsewhere
- promote the preparation of review papers on aspects of risk analysis for submission to the ISI Review and other scientific and technical publications
- encourage the preparation and sharing of teaching materials related to statistical aspects of risk problems that are international in scope
- convey the fundamentals concepts of risk and risk analysis to the general public
Background
Risk analysis has been recognized as important theme in almost all areas of human life e.g.
- human health( e.g. food, occupational safety,
- drug safety
- ecology and climate
- reliability of industrial products and procedures
- complex engineered systems and equipments (e.g. dams, power plants, space shuttles)
- finance and economics
- human life conditions ( e.g. poverty)
- terrorisms and adversarial risks
- telecommunication and software
- comparative risk assessment and communication
- ethics of risk
Mode of Operation
As a rule, the Committee meets every second year at the ISI Sessions. Between Sessions, the business of the Committee is handled primarily by correspondence. In addition to co-ordinating scientific meetings, the Committee can also hold administrative meetings at the ISI Session if desirable. If appropriate, the Committee can present reports on topics within its mandate to the Executive Committee.