The World Risk Poll began in 2019 and is the first ever global study of perceptions and experience of risk. There have been two rounds of polling so far, with two more iterations planned for 2023 and 2025.
It surveys up to 150,000 people to better understand how to improve our understanding of risk and make the world a safer place. Part of the Gallup World Poll, the survey is conducted through interviews in over 120 countries and up to 145 different languages. The Poll provides us with a granular picture of the differences between people’s thoughts about and experiences of risk in areas such as risks at work, or crime and violence. This insight is already being used by a range of stakeholders to improve safety worldwide.
Now that the dataset for the 2021 Poll is complete, we want to maximise its impact and ensure the findings are widely disseminated and used. We are inviting applications for projects which will use the data to design and run research and/or interventions – in Lloyd's Register Foundation mission-aligned areas - that aim to make a marked contribution to improving global safety.
We envisage a range of possible outcomes for projects which practically apply the Poll findings through the development of new interventions or by strengthening existing ones. For instance, a project may focus on better design and construction of technologies to remove bias, the development and implementation of appropriate regulation, or the engagement of vulnerable communities to build trust in these developments.
Similarly, research projects may aim to address data gaps or support hypotheses through secondary analysis of the Poll data and/or to use alongside other relevant data. An important output could be the provision of evidence, disseminated to stakeholders, which motivates action. For example, research projects which find robust evidence for how and why particular demographics are most impacted by safety challenges, that effectively communicate findings to relevant bodies, and consequently influence improvements to public risk information.