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Course Description

Effective risk communication goes beyond sharing information. It is a strategic process that helps people, organizations, and communities understand, evaluate, and respond to uncertainty. Professionals across public, private, and nonprofit sectors use risk communication to address challenges ranging from public health, food and consumer safety, and environmental hazards to cybersecurity, data privacy, misinformation, and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence. Across these diverse contexts, successful risk communication begins with a clear purpose and a well-defined strategy long before a crisis occurs.

In this course, Professors Katherine McComas and Dominic Balog-Way challenge common assumptions about risk, communication, and strategy while introducing an evidence-informed approach to communicating under uncertainty. You will distinguish hazards from risks, examine how different people define and prioritize risk, and explore the strengths and limitations of one-way and multiway communication.

Through case studies, real-world examples, and applied activities drawn from a range of sectors and countries, you will explore how effective risk communication aligns missions, goals, objectives, strategies, tactics, and evaluation.

Faculty Author

Katherine McComas; Dominic Balog-Way

Benefits to the Learner

  • Identify the core components of your strategy
  • Compare perspectives on your risk
  • Recognize the value of multiway communication

Target Audience

  • Communications directors and PR managers responsible for communicating about risk across their organizations and externally
  • Risk communication and country risk teams developing communication strategies before challenges or incidents arise
  • Public information officers at health, environmental, and food safety regulatory agencies in the U.S. and Europe
  • Risk management leaders at pharmaceutical, chemical, biotech, and energy companies operating in highly regulated environments
  • Health, emergency, and public safety managers communicating hazards to the communities they serve
  • Executives, operations leaders, and project managers who oversee or coordinate risk communication without formal training in the field
  • Technical specialists, analysts, marketers, and professionals in advocacy, education, and public lands whose roles include communicating about risk

Applies Towards the Following Certificates

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Enroll Now - Select a section to enroll in

Type
2 week
Dates
Dec 09, 2026 to Dec 22, 2026
Total Number of Hours
12.0
Course Fee(s)
Regular Price $999.00
Type
2 week
Dates
Mar 03, 2027 to Mar 16, 2027
Total Number of Hours
12.0
Course Fee(s)
Regular Price $999.00
Type
2 week
Dates
May 26, 2027 to Jun 08, 2027
Total Number of Hours
12.0
Course Fee(s)
Regular Price $999.00
Type
2 week
Dates
Aug 18, 2027 to Aug 31, 2027
Total Number of Hours
12.0
Course Fee(s)
Regular Price $999.00
Type
2 week
Dates
Nov 10, 2027 to Nov 23, 2027
Total Number of Hours
12.0
Course Fee(s)
Regular Price $999.00
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