In 2003, ICCROM and the Canadian Conservation Institute organized an international “train the trainers” workshop on preventive conservation. The gathering concluded that risk management could provide the systematic and effective approach preventive conservation needed, not just to manage catastrophic events, but to manage all risks, cumulative as well as catastrophic.
 
As a result, from 2005 to 2012, ICCROM collaborated with international partners to initiate a paradigm shift from traditional preventive conservation to an approach based on risk management. The method incorporates two innovations: the consideration of the value and significance of cultural heritage in decision making, and the quantification of the various risks to allow for comparison and prioritization. Most recently, the method has been expanded to include assessment of the cost-effectiveness of different preventive conservation actions.
 
Since 2012, collaboration continues ad hoc in response to Member State requests for international or regional courses on ”Preventive conservation: Reducing risks to cultural heritage” (link to Beijing, Quito, Tianjin, Santiago de Chile, Sharjah)
 
In 2017, the method will become freely available in two online resources: a guidebook, which introduces the method (principles and steps) with illustrated examples; and the ABC Method, a manual for applying the method in various contexts. Both publications are a collaboration of ICCROM and the Canadian Conservation Institute.