This award will provide partial support for a workshop on risk analysis in developing countries to be held from July 5-10, 1988 in Nairobi, Kenya. The workshop will bring together many of the world's leading researchers in risk analysis to review the status of comparative research on risk assessment theory and methods. Funding by the National Science Foundation will provide partial support for three American researchers to attend the workshop. NSF funds will also be used to support the writing of a background paper that reviews the recent literature on risk in developing countries. Professor Jane Ives, the principal investigator and workshop organizer, is a prominent scientist in international aspects of risk assessment. Her qualifications and broad experience are major assets for the writing of the background paper and for the successful management of the workshop. The workshop will address key issues surrounding the suitability and applicability of risk analysis methods and approaches for developing countries. Three central questions to be addressed by the workshop are: To what extent are risk analysis methods and approaches culture bound? To what extent can risk analysis methods and approaches be adapted so as to be sensitive to the needs of developing countries? What lessons can be learned from analogous attempts to transfer assessment and decision making methods from developed to developing nations. As part of the workshop, several case studies will be presented and discussed. It is expected that the workshop will advance the state of knowledge on risk in developing nations. It is also expected that the workshop will (1) identify promising areas for future research, and (2) establish linkages among scientists from the United States and developing countries.
