Plain Risk helps people understand, describe, and manage risk through clear concepts and the relationships between them.
While the examples and tools presented in this website focus on organisational contexts, the ideas can be used in many settings.
Development
Plain Risk was developed by Dr Julien Maréchal (LinkedIn). It forms part of the work of The Governance Practice.
We welcome feedback and suggestions for improving Plain Risk.
Purpose and scope
The framework provides concepts and sentence patterns for describing risks, examining controls, and explaining what a person or organisation is prepared to accept. These building blocks help make an account clear enough to examine, question, and use.
Plain Risk can be used alongside professional and technical frameworks. A particular assessment may need specialist knowledge, quantitative methods, and attention to the requirements of the relevant field.
Related frameworks
Using and acknowledging the materials
Except where otherwise indicated, the original Plain Risk framework text, diagrams, application guidance, and learning activities on this website are licensed by The Governance Practice under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence (CC BY 4.0).
You may copy, share, and adapt these materials, including for commercial purposes, under the licence terms.
When sharing these materials, including adaptations, credit Dr Julien Maréchal and The Governance Practice, provide the source and licence details, and indicate any changes, in a manner reasonable for the medium and context.
Suggested attribution
Plain Risk, developed by Dr Julien Maréchal. © 2026 The Governance Practice. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Where reasonably practicable, include a link to the relevant Plain Risk page with this credit.
We also welcome acknowledgement when you apply the approach in your work, including where attribution is not legally required.
This licence excludes the Plain Risk and TGP logos, third-party material, and website software.
Workshops and advice
Learn how to use Plain Risk, or get help applying it to your work.
We offer workshops, facilitated discussions and advice through The Governance Practice to help you understand risks and examine how they are assessed and managed.
Workshops and facilitated discussions also help participants develop analytical skills for critical judgement by applying the framework to cases and their own work.