With this report, IRGC aims to raise awareness among professionals about the fact that risks emerge from a common “fertile ground” that is cultivated by twelve generic “contributing factors”. IRGC defines and illustrates these generic factors, which are applicable across multiple domains. An understanding of these factors will provide practitioners with insights to help anticipate these risks and better manage them at the early phase. While the origins of emerging risks often require a basic understanding of the physical and life sciences, several of the factors identified in this report have a psychological, social or economic dimension.