Questions Risk Managers and Risk Assessors Ask Each Other (Text Version)

Some of the most important questions a risk assessor can ask the risk manager are:

• Did we tell you enough about the risks (with enough certainty/confidence) to inform the management decision?
• Did we examine the right questions?
• Was the problem adequately characterized?

Some of the most important questions a risk manager can ask the risk assessor are:

• What effects might occur? (Risk managers need to know the major risks to assessment endpoints.)
• How bad could they be?
• How likely are they?
• When and where could they occur?
• How confident are you in the conclusions of the risk assessment? (Risk managers need to know whether conclusions are supported by a large body of data or if there are significant data gaps.)
• What are critical data gaps, and will information be available in the near future to fill these gaps?
• Are more ecological risk assessment iterations required?
• Could monitoring help evaluate the results of the risk management decision?