HF Partners
Evidence-based, human-centered safety and security design
Mission
HF Partners is a Swiss-based research institute, consultancy and service provider for organizations and authorities to address the challenges associated with risks to security and safety. Our goal is to help organizations and individuals better manage complex risks, make informed decisions and communicate effectively about risk and uncertainty.
Driving forces behind HF Partners are Dr. Franziska Hofer and Dr. Angela Bearth.
Altogether, we have 35 years of expertise in human-centered security and safety design.
We are entrepeneurs at heart with a distinct passion for applied research.
News
New publications 2024
We are active scientific writers. Hot off the press: Here is a series of publications that came out this year, featuring our core topics in safety:
- Regulation of biocidal products from the perspectives of the user and risk analysis of biocidal products in general
- Views of New Approach Methods (NAMs) in chemical risk assessment: Risk assessors and public
- Consumers’ acceptance of New Breeding Techniques in agriculture
- Avoiding accidents with chemical products in households with small children
- Anthropomorphism in animal keeping: Public acceptance of animal keeping practices
- Technology-assisted animal keeping: Perspectives of pig veterinarians
On November 6th, 2024, Franziska Hofer together with Anna-Lena Köng from Stiftung Risikodialog spoke at the symposium “Sicherheitskultur im Unternehmen stärken – wie?” on handling uncertainty. More information here.
Topics
- Dealing with uncertainties
- Increased requirements for risk management
- Skills in an increasingly complex working environment
- Design principles for highly reliable organisation
Food for thought and recommendations for a proactive risk culture
Angela Bearth was recently inaugurated as the first social scientist in the Scientific Committee of the European Food Safety Authority.
She will serve in the mandate from 2024-2029.
EFSA is an agency of the European Union set up in 2002 to serve as an impartial source of scientific advice to risk managers and to communicate on risks associated with the food chain.
Over 1500 scientists applied to become EFSA panel members following a call for experts in spring 2023. The appointed scientists, from 26 countries (including six non-EU countries), were selected following a rigorous evaluation procedure and screening of their declarations of interest, adhering to EFSA’s strict rules on transparency and independence.
HF Partners attended the 4th Annual Conference of the SRA-E DACHL Chapter “Methods in Risk Research” in Potsdam, Germany.
Established in 2018 during the 27th SRA-Europe conference in Östersund, the SRA-E DACHL Chapter aims to enhance risk research and understanding of risk analysis
techniques in German-speaking regions, including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and South Tyrol. Its objectives are to address regional risk issues, facilitate communication among risk professionals worldwide, and support educational activities and development opportunities for young researchers.
Next year’s conference will be organised by HF Partners and the Swiss Centre for Applied Human Toxicology (SCAHT) in Basel on September 11 and 12, 2025.
Our article on the psychology of judicial decision-making in ‘Justice – Giustizia’ 2023/3 has just been published!
In this article, we provide an insight into the variety of psychological factors that influence (judicial) decisions and highlight the underlying mechanisms. An overview of recent scientific studies is followed by considerations from an external perspective.
