Anne Wiles

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Anne Wiles, PhD. Senior Analyst, came to RSI through her interests in public and institutional attitudes to risk and complex technologies. After time as writer and editor with federal government, and with a couple of degrees in English literature, she became interested in the different ways in which people interpret events, and scientific explanations for them, and investigated these issues through the discipline of human geography. Her academic work focused on risk perception and communication, and on regulation, through research on the different public and government approaches to nuclear power and genetically modified foods.  With a dual background in language and risk matters, I became more involved in risk communication, working with Health Canada’s Radiation Protection Bureau drafting risk communication material for its Federal Nuclear Emergency Preparedness section. Her interest in the way risk concepts and attitudes are negotiated, applied and communicated in society and government led her to work with RSI on risk management practice.  

For her work at RSI, Anne has built on her previous experience and academic research through work on communication on nuclear power and nuclear waste disposal; developing communication strategies and messaging on health risk issues; and delivering training on risk communication. She has also applied her familiarity with risk regulation in many projects on government approaches to evaluating and managing risks, taking account of their mandates and the context in which they manage risks. She brings this experience to bear in her teaching of two university courses, an overview course on risk as it is conceived and managed in today’s society, and a graduate course on risk management in government.