Managing stakeholder perceptions of risk and opportunity in social infrastructure projects using a multimedia approach

While the construction industry has developed sound technical skills in dealing with risk, its ability to deal with the human perceptions of construction risk is less well developed. One of the key questions which now faces every organisation operating in the construction industry is not just whether it is managing its risks effectively, but also whether it is managing its wider responsibility to society and whether it is communicating this effectively. This is even more important in planning, designing, constructing and operating social infrastructure projects where connections to the community are particularly strong. It is in this context that this paper critically analyses traditional approaches to risk management in the construction industry. It argues that a new approach is needed which recognises the social, political, psychological and cultural complexity of risk. Multimedia offers a solution to this need and a case study of a new multimedia approach to risk and opportunity management (see http://www.risk-opportunity.com) is presented to show how this can be achieved in practice.