This open access brief-in-two-volumes provides a global overview of the many ways in which today's safety management and governance of high-risk industries may be destabilized in an evolving and rapidly transforming world. Rather than focusing exclusively on the traditional perimeter of safety management and governance, it considers industrial safety within a wider societal, technological, (geo)political, economic and environmental context to explore future challenges in the coupling of safety and its ecosystem and how to live with them.

This first volume analyzes the current situation as well as the destabilizations now underway and predicted to come in the future and suggests new frames of reference for this changing world, including: the social contract,

• AI realism and
• the regulatory framework.

 The second volume focuses on challenges at the organizational level before providing illustrations of ways forward implemented in various areas.

In considering the complexity and uncertainty of the topic, the two volumes together rely on the principle of requisite variety to provide contrasting and complementary views by gathering insights on the future of safety from many international academics.

Corinne Bieder is Head of the safety management research program at ENAC (the French Civil Aviation University). She has worked and conducted research in safety management in a variety of high-risk industries for many years. She has published a number of papers and books on safety management and is Member of the international NeTWork think tank addressing safety from a multidisciplinary perspective. After being a member of its strategic analysis group, she took up the position of Scientific Director at Foundation for an Industrial Safety Culture (FonCSI) in 2024.

Caroline Kamaté holds a Ph.D. in immunology. She has post-doctoral experience in academy (University Medical Center, Utrecht, Netherlands) and in industry (Sanofi-Aventis, France). Her interest in scientific communication led her to join FonCSI in 2007 where she is involved in the management of research programs and dissemination of results.

Hervé Laroche is Emeritus Professor in the management department at ESCP Business School. His research concerns decision-making processes in organizations, organizational reliability, and organizational secrecy. It has been published in management, organization science, organization studies, journal of business ethics, etc. He now is Member of the FonCSI since 2024.

Eric Marsden holds a Ph.D. in dependable computing from LAAS-CNRS in Toulouse, France. His work at FonCSI since 2005 concerns the management of research projects concerning risk management and industrial safety.

A civil aviation engineer, Jean Pariès worked for 15 years with the French Civil Aviation Authority (DGAC). He then joined the Bureau d'enquêtes et d'analyses (BEA) for Civil Aviation Safety. Then, from 2000 to 2004, he was Associate Research Director at the CNRS. He was Chairman of Dédale SA for 25 years. Finally, he joined ICSI and FonCSI from the beginning of 2020.

René Amalberti is Doctor of Medicine and Cognitive Psychology and Former Professor of Medicine and Chair holder at the Val-de Grâce military hospital. He was Patient Safety Adviser at the French National Authority for Health (HAS), and since June 2012, he has been Director of FonCSI. As International Specialist in industrial and medical risk, he has published numerous books and articles.