Volcanic risk reduction is a partnership between science, responding agencies and the affected communities. A critical organisation in the volcanic risk reduction cycle is a volcano observatory (VO), which is an institute or group of institutes whose role it is to monitor active volcanoes and provide early warnings of future activity to the authorities. For each country, the exact constitution of a VO may differ, dependent on the legislative framework for disaster risk reduction and scientific advice to government. For example, in the USA, the Alaska Volcano Observatory is a joint programme of the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAFGI), and the State of Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys (ADGGS), whereas in New Zealand, GNS Science has sole responsibility under the country's Civil Defence Emergency Management Act to provide warnings on volcanic activity and hence provides the function of a volcano observatory.

The responsibilities of a VO also differ from country to country. In some nations, a volcano monitoring organisation may be responsible only for maintaining equipment and ensuring a steady flow of scientific data to an academic or civil protection institution, who then interpret the data or make decisions. In other jurisdictions, the VO may provide interpretations of those data and undertake cutting edge research on volcanic processes. In most cases a VO will provide volcanic hazards information such as setting Volcanic Alert Levels and issuing forecasts of future activity, and in some instances, a VO may even provide advice on when civil actions should take place such as the timing of evacuation. Some of the VOs have responsibility for multiple volcanoes, whereas others may only monitor and provide advice on a single volcano. In some countries an academic institute may fulfil both the monitoring and research function for a volcano.

This wide range of potential roles and responsibilities demonstrates the importance of a VO function, but also shows that there is no single template for the constitution of a VO. However, it is critically important that governments recognise the need for volcano monitoring, provide adequate resourcing and have clear definitions of roles for VOs, academic institutions, civil protection agencies and other key players for the pathway for issuing warnings.