In other words, making a decision regarding the issue at hand based upon a risk assessment. Typically those dealing with risk management are not the same people that were involved in the risk assessment. This separation of science from management has the benefit of protecting the objectivity of those doing the risk assessment. It does, however, increase the requirement for effective communication between the risk assessors and decision makers to ensure understanding and to prevent misinterpretation of the information provided. During the decision making phase of risk analysis is where considerations other than science come into play.
Most decisions made also involve economic, social, and political factors.
As has been previously stated, risk assessments deal with probability, uncertainty, and the future. So even after taking into consideration other factors along with the scientific evidence, there is a certain amount of art and gut feeling which goes into risk management. Another aspect of the risk management phase is deciding what mitigation actions will or will not be added to the process being examined. Mitigation actions are those actions that have the effect of lowering the risk of an adverse outcome. Once a decision is made, appropriate actions are carried out.