The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Assessing Global Progress in the Governance of Critical Risks report analyses the progress of countries against the five principles of the 2014 OECD Recommendation on the Governance of Critical Risks. The report is based on a cross-country survey covering 34 countries carried out through the High Level Risk Forum in 2016. MMC is a strategic partner of the OECD’s High-Level Risk Forum and was involved throughout the project.
Overall, OECD countries have expanded their efforts and experimented heavily with risk governance strategies, reflecting the strategic importance of managing critical risks. Many countries have, for example, have adopted a national strategy with an integrated vision, established institutional leadership to drive policy implementation, and created formal elements of a national risk assessment.
However, implementation of the OECD Recommendations remains uneven and several countries are struggling to put in place policies that bridge administrative and territorial borders and remove pockets of vulnerability within their society. Governments will need to continue to improve and experiment with risk polices and strategies and form strong partnerships with civil society and the private sector to ensure that critical risks are effectively governed in the future.
