International experts gather at IHRR to examine risk communication under uncertainty

The workshop will bring together 39 researchers, public authorities and professional communicators from seven countries across four continents at Durham University on 7 and 8 September for Communicating Difficult Messages Well: Hazard, Risk and Uncertainty. The two-day workshop is organised by the Institute of Hazard, Risk and Resilience (IHRR) and will take place at the Calman Learning Centre.

The workshop asks how scientists, institutions, professional communicators and public authorities should communicate when evidence is uncertain, consequences may be serious and public trust matters. Difficult messages may involve incomplete or changing evidence, probabilistic forecasts, or choices in which action and inaction both have serious consequences.

Participants bring experience from universities, research organisations, government, emergency management, risk practice and professional communication. Their work addresses hazards and crises that unfold over very different timescales.

Eleven short case-based contributions and an online keynote by Professor Brooke Rogers, Home Office Chief Scientific Adviser and Professor of Behavioural Science and Security at King's College London, will provide common ground for discussion. The cases span post-disaster community knowledge, weather and health, public warning systems, seasonal forecasts, messages about air pollution for children, crisis communication and the unintended effects of risk messages.

Participants will work in groups and compare their thoughts and conclusions in plenary sessions. Their discussions will consider four main questions:

1. What makes a message difficult?
2. How does information support decisions and action?
3. How should uncertain or changing evidence be communicated?
4. How can communication build trust, accountability, foresight and learning?

The workshop aims to identify practical principles and questions for communicators and decision-makers, along with priorities for future research, teaching and professional practice. The closing session will agree how best to share a short workshop synthesis and identify opportunities for follow-up collaboration. Professor Fausto Guzzetti and Professor Bruce D. Malamud lead the workshop with support from the IHRR team.

Earlier IHRR news announcement: https://www.durham.ac.uk/research/institutes-and-centres/hazard-risk-resilience/about-us/news/communicating-difficult-messages-well-hazard-risk-and-uncertainty-/

Image credit

Banner created with ChatGPT (OpenAI), using official Durham University and IHRR branding. AI-generated background.

Image caption

The CDMW 2026 workshop will bring together 39 participants from seven countries across four continents at the Calman Learning Centre, Durham University, to examine how difficult messages about hazard, risk and uncertainty can support decisions.

Image alt text

CDMW 2026 workshop banner showing a coastal community affected by storm, flooding, landslide and wildfire, with Durham University and IHRR branding, the workshop title and event details.