THE DOUBLE DIVIDEND OF SAFETY PROJECT
Using World Risk Poll data to create an estimation tool to reveal the underappreciated benefits of improved safety
The Double Dividend of Safety Project, funded by Lloyd’s Register Foundation, works to understand how improving people’s safety can also lead to positive individual health behaviour changes – a concept known as the ‘Double Dividend of Safety’. The project works with organisations to raise awareness of this concept and to help them apply it in their work. Using data from the Lloyd’s Register Foundation World Risk Poll (the first and only global study of people’s perceptions and experiences of risks to their safety), the project will develop a data dashboard to help organisations estimate the impact that improving different types of safety could have on numerous health behaviours.
What is the Double Dividend of Safety?
If you felt your life could be cut short at any moment by violence, accidents, or natural disasters, would you worry much about exercising regularly or eating healthily?
Evidence shows that there is a connection between exposure to risk and health behaviour. When people are exposed to health and safety risks that are beyond their personal control, it reduces their chances of living to an old age, no matter what they do. Many of the benefits of a healthy lifestyle (or the negative effects of an unhealthy lifestyle) are not experienced until later life. Therefore, people who are exposed to more uncontrollable risk now may, understandably, do less to avoid the later-life ill health they may never live to experience. A growing body of research evidence shows that if we make people safer, they will be more motivated to take care of their health.
We call this the ‘Double Dividend of Safety’:
- First, there is the safety improvement itself (like reduced rates of violent crime or improved traffic safety) and,
- Second, the benefits of improved health behaviours (such as healthier eating and increased exercise).
Working with Organisations
We are interested in working with a range of organisations, including charities, government agencies, NGOs, researchers, funders, policymakers, and advocacy groups. We are keen to engage with those that promote, fund, or campaign for improved safety or risk reduction, as well as those focused on improving public health behaviours.
We will work with organisations to raise awareness of the double dividend of safety and to help them apply it in their work. Organisations will be supported through workshops and user-friendly explainer materials to identify where their work might be creating the double dividend of safety. Organisations will learn how to measure the double dividend of safety, offering a valuable tool for evaluating and communicating the impact of their work.
Developing the Double Dividend of Safety Data Dashboard
The project will use data from the Lloyd’s Register Foundation World Risk Poll to build statistical models to estimate the impact that improving different types of safety could have in different places. These models will be used to develop a unique data dashboard that organisations can use to quantify the potential double dividend of safety which might be gained by tackling key hazards in their regions of interest.
Useful Resources
For more information, please download our explainer materials below. Please note that our documents are evolving based on user feedback, so we encourage you to check for updates throughout the project.
Project Information
Meet the Team
Gillian is a Senior Lecturer of Psychology and the Health and Wellbeing Lead for Urban Futures at Northumbria University. Her research focuses on socioeconomic inequalities in health, and her work has developed the evidence base for the Double Dividend of Safety.
Richard is a Research Fellow in Psychology at Northumbria University. His research investigates the relationships between perceptions of risk and health behaviours, exploring a range of public health issues using both quantitative and qualitative methods.
Get in Touch
For more information, or to discuss potential collaboration opportunities, please get in touch.