It Should Never Happen Again: The Failure of Inquiries and Commissions to Enhance Risk Governance

Dr Mike Lauder questions the value of public inquiries. Every day, we hear about another inquiry being set up, or why the last one failed. Time and money is spent on inquiries and on implementing their recommendations, but they do not lead to the learning they should. Based on research into high profile inquiries and commissions, It Should Never Happen Again focuses on the gaps between what is known, what knowledge is used by practitioners and by those who judge them. It contrasts the judicial perspective of those who inquire; the academic perspective of those who know; and the practical perspective of those who are required to act. The difference between these perspectives creates barriers that impede others from learning from inquiries. Crucially, inquiry outcomes do not assist the leadership of organisations to improve risk governance. The author offers new models for understanding risk and its governance.

About the Author

Dr Mike Lauder MBE has worked in risk management for the last 30 years. He is now an independent researcher and a visiting fellow at Cranfield School of Management, where he undertook his doctorate studying risk governance and the process, outcomes, effectiveness and efficacy of public inquiries. He has a wide range of experience in this field covering his time in the military and as a consultant. He has practical experience of risk management as a military engineer, including work in bomb disposal and as a security specialist. He has worked in both construction and procurement project management and has wider experience of logistic operations and corporate financial planning. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute and has published in Risk Management Professional, the magazine of The Institute of Risk Management. Mike Lauder lectures on the topics raised within this book.