Dear SRA-ANZ Members,
There’s a fable that is said to have originated from the Indian subcontinent about some blind men and an elephant. There are many versions of the story, but the gist is pretty much the same. A group of men—blind from birth—heard that something called an ‘elephant’ had arrived in their town. Curious to know what an elephant was, they all reached out to touch it. One man reached out and happened to touch the trunk, and concluded that an elephant was some sort of snake. Another reached out and happened to touch one of the elephant’s legs, and concluded that it was some sort of tree. And finally, the last one reached out and happened to grasp the elephant’s tail, and concluded that an elephant was some kind of whip. A big argument ensued as to what an elephant actually was, with each of the men being partly right about its characteristics but also simultaneously completely wrong about its true nature.  
Risk analysis has flourished into a rich and diverse field, with analytical approaches increasingly growing in sophistication. As a community, we certainly have much to celebrate in terms of pushing the boundaries of the analysis and management of different types of risk. The strength of the field, however, is the hallmark of its weakness: while we have explored the vast diversity of risk, we have also contributed to its fragmentation.
Have we become the blind men who have been independently trying to understand what an elephant is? Have we developed strong convictions about what we know about particular risks, but failed to see the big picture? As we continue to deepen our understanding of different risks, are we depriving ourselves of the opportunity to truly grasp its nature?
In order to push the boundaries of risk analysis, we need to bring our different perspectives and areas of expertise together. This is the only way for us to gain important insights into the complex nature of risk, and to appreciate how our work builds on and enriches each other’s approaches.
It is in this spirit that SRA-ANZ is aiming to expand its membership base to include other areas of risk analysis that have not been traditionally well-represented in the Society. It is likewise in this spirit that this year’s conference on Risk Prisms at the University of Sydney Business School brings together multidisciplinary panels aimed at analysing the same risk from different perspectives (early bird registration is closing soon!).
We need to break down our disciplinary silos. We need to talk about the elephant in the room.
Sandra Seno-Alday, SRA-ANZ President

Let’s Talk Risk with the Society for Risk Analysis, the world’s leading authority on risk science and its applications, helps bring clarity to the world of risk, uncertainty, and ambiguity.

Episodes currently available for download include:
Ep. 1: The Uncertainty Component
Ep. 2: We've Been Underestimating Climate Change
Ep. 3: The Preservation of a Culture
Ep. 4: Clearing House at the EPA: An Attack on Science
Ep. 5: Infrastructure Management: Communities Can Profit From Disaster

Download from the iTunes store here.

Abstract Submission is Open
The Society for Risk Analysis (SRA) invites your abstracts for presentations at the 2018 SRA Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, December 2-6.
 
We welcome contributions on any topic related to risk assessment, risk characterization, risk perception, risk communication, risk management, risk governance, and policy relating to risk, in the context of risks of concern to individuals, to public and private sector organizations, and to society at a local, regional, national, or global level.

This year's theme, “The Many Faces of Risk,” is intended to showcase inclusion, a cornerstone of SRA and vital to the ability to address today’s most pressing risk issues. The theme underscores the diversity of SRA in terms of the professions, disciplines, methodologies, nationalities, and regions its membership represents. It also highlights the staggering array of topics that SRA members and meeting participants explore in their research and practice. 
 
Abstracts are due no later than May 29, 2018, midnight EST.
Click here for complete submission guidelines and to submit your abstract.

Continuing education workshops will be offered on Sunday, December 2 and Thursday, December 6 in either 4 or 8 hour sessions. This year we are encouraging proposals aimed at improving the foundations and/or practice of risk analysis. Click here for complete workshop submission guidelines and to submit your proposal. Continuing education workshop proposals are due no later than May 29, 2018. 

The Society for Risk Analysis invites your abstracts for presentations at the Fifth World Congress on Risk in Cape Town, South Africa, May 6-8, 2019.
The Fifth World Congress on Risk will focus on “Development and Resilience” and aims to stimulate dialogue and education on risk issues of worldwide interest. SRA welcomes contributions on any topic related to risk assessment, risk characterization, risk perception, risk communication, risk management, risk governance, and policy relating to risk, in the context of risks of concern to individuals, to public and private sector organizations, and to society at a local, regional, national, or global level.
SRA is particularly interested in receiving submissions from outstanding researchers doing work in risk analysis from Africa, Asia, Oceania, Middle East or Latin America and will aim to support their travel to present at the World Congress. The organizing committee welcomes proposals for a variety of session formats: poster-platform presentation, oral presentation and symposium presentation.

Click here for complete submission guidelines and to submit your abstract.

Register for the 2018 SRA Europe Conference 
June 18-20, 2018 in Östersund, SwedenThe special theme of the conference, "Risk & Uncertainty – From Critical Thinking to Practical Impact" reflects the current need to persist the phenomenon of knowledge resistance and alternative facts, as well as to develop applied research for risk analysis in open and democratic contexts.
The conference will be held at Mid Sweden University in Östersund, a small town close to the mountains in the north of Sweden. During the conference you will experience the longest day of the year when the sun rises at 2.50 a.m., only a few hours after it sets.
This conference gathers academics, policy makers, and practitioners interested in risk research, policy, and practice, including members of the SRA-E, SRA International and other regional SRA organizations.
We hope you will take the opportunity to visit our beautiful town, take part in the conference, and listen to inspiring speakers.

Register now to take advantage of early-bird pricing.

The Society for Risk Analysis (SRA) invites your abstracts for presentations at the 2018 SRA Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, December 2-6.
 
We welcome contributions on any topic related to risk assessment, risk characterization, risk perception, risk communication, risk management, risk governance, and policy relating to risk, in the context of risks of concern to individuals, to public and private sector organizations, and to society at a local, regional, national, or global level.

This year's theme, “The Many Faces of Risk,” is intended to showcase inclusion, a cornerstone of SRA and vital to the ability to address today’s most pressing risk issues. The theme underscores the diversity of SRA in terms of the professions, disciplines, methodologies, nationalities, and regions its membership represents. It also highlights the staggering array of topics that SRA members and meeting participants explore in their research and practice. 
 
Abstracts are due no later than May 29, 2018, midnight EST.
Click here for complete submission guidelines and to submit your abstract.

Continuing education workshops will be offered on Sunday, December 2 and Thursday, December 6 in either 4 or 8 hour sessions. This year we are encouraging proposals aimed at improving the foundations and/or practice of risk analysis. Click here for complete workshop submission guidelines and to submit your proposal. Continuing education workshop proposals are due no later than May 29, 2018. 

MCDEM Conference - Partners for Resilience
The 2018 National Emergency Management Conference is fast approaching. This year’s conference will be held in conjunction with the Australasian Natural Hazards Management Conference, focusing on the theme ‘Partners for Resilience’.

Bringing together a range of experienced and knowledgeable speakers including Mark McCrindle, Holly Ransom and Mark Crosweller, the 2018 conference will focus on providing insight, advice and discussions that will be both relevant and engaging for emergency management professionals.

In the days surrounding the main conference, a range of topical workshops will be held. Workshops are a great way of getting a more hands on perspective, as well as a fantastic opportunity to meet people from a range of organisations and sectors. However this year’s workshops are organised and registered for separately from the conference. Workshops will be listed below as they become available.

On 30 May at the annual Awards Dinner, the 2018 Ministerial and Directors awards will be presented as a way of celebrating achievements across the emergency management sector. This is a fantastic way to acknowledge the successes of colleagues from across the sector, all are welcome.

Where: Conference, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Wellington. Awards Dinner, Bee Hive Banquet Hall
When: Conference, 30 – 31 May 2018. Awards Dinner 30 May. Workshops, 29 May and 1 June
Cost: Conference $500 (including access to all workshops). Dinner $80.
Registrations open:  28 February
Registrations close: 4 May
Register online here
If you require any further detail please email Emergency.Management@dpmc.govt.nz

Useful Links:
Conference Overview

Dear SRA-ANZ Members,
As a (relatively new) network scholar, the different ways in which we are all connected never ceases to amaze me. What amazes me even more is how much we don’t know about how widely connected we actually are, how much more closely connected we can be, and how much we can achieve when we reach out to connect to others.
My first year as President of SRA-ANZ has taught me (yet again!) about the extraordinary power of networks. As a small society, we rely heavily on the time that individual members very generously volunteer to get initiatives off the ground. However, this year has shown that the collective resources of SRA-ANZ amount to more than just the sum of time volunteered by our modest membership base. Our deceptively small society has proven to be a network of hidden networks, which has allowed SRA-ANZ to put down 2017 as a year of achievement.
Our 2017 conference, ‘Risk in an Interconnected World’ was one of our most well-attended conferences in recent years. Under the guidance of SRA-ANZ councillors Martina Hoffmann and Anca Hanea, and members Edith Arndt and Tracey Hollings (all from the Centre of Excellence for Biosecurity Risk Analysis, University of Melbourne), the conference effectively connected the society to new and existing members, with expertise spanning disciplines from biosecurity to transport safety. Most notably, the conference linked SRA-ANZ to the Australasian Bayesian Network Modelling Society (ABNMS), whose co-organisation of the conference has resulted in an exciting new connection that we hope will lead to many more productive collaborations in the future.
Through the creative and capable efforts of Martina Hoffmann and Steve Corin (Synapt Consulting, New Zealand) our members have been connected to the latest developments in the various fields of risk analysis through our regular newsletter and website updates. Under the leadership of Steve Corin, the society has likewise been connected to the latest thinking in risk through the SRA International webinar series. This year has also marked SRA-ANZ’s stronger engagement with industry, led by Barbara Campany (GHD Australia), and with policymakers, led by Naomi Cogger (Massey University, New Zealand).
Our society has been working hard to connect our own risk experts with the rest of the world. In line with this, we have received strong support from the editorial board of the Journal of Risk Research. We are currently working with the journal to put together our very first SRA-ANZ special issue, aimed at showcasing the novel work of our members. We hope to get this published in 2018, and hope to continue sharing the work of risk scholars from our region to a global audience.
Finally, the society continues to share its expertise in shaping risk management standards through its participation in Standards Australia committee OB 007, which is currently in the process of updating the international risk management standard ISO31000, among others.
While we have been able to reach out and establish productive connections with others this year, we need to increase our network connectivity even more. We need to broaden our disciplinary connections in order to truly be in a position to meaningfully foster cross-disciplinary interconnections. It is only by building bridges across areas of risk expertise that we will collectively be able to robustly think about complex emerging risks, creatively craft solutions to managing the ever evolving risk landscape, and expand the frontiers of risk analysis.
We now optimistically look forward to 2018 and beyond, confident that we will be able to build on the strong connections we have established this year!
Sandra Seno-Alday, SRA-ANZ President

SRA invites the submission of abstracts for presentations at the Fifth World Congress on Risk to be held in Cape Town, South Africa, May 6-8, 2019. The Fifth World Congress on Risk will focus on ‘Development and Resilience’ and aims to stimulate dialogue and education on risk issues of world-wide interest.

SRA welcomes contributions on any topic related to risk assessment, risk characterization, risk perception, risk communication, risk management, risk governance, and policy relating to risk, in the context of risks of concern to individuals, to public and private sector organizations, and to society at a local, regional, national, or global level.

SRA-ANZ is looking for any further speakers who would like to submit an abstract to be added to our proposed symposium, ‘Risk Analysis in an Interconnected World’. For the submission code to submit an abstract as part of the SRA-ANZ symposium, please contact Hong Jin: Hong.Jin@foodstandards.gov.au