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Democracy, citizenship and anticipatory governance of science and technology

3S / February 25, 2014

Institute of Hazard and Risk Research, Durham University Tuesday 15 December 2009

The second workshop of the ESRC seminar series Critical Perspectives on Public Engagement in Science and Environmental Risk explored the incipient institutionalisation of public engagement and deliberation. Contemporary science policy has taken a distinct ‘deliberative turn’. Across a range of domains – biotechnology, the life sciences and nanotechnology to name but a few – recent government policy increasingly speaks of the incorporation of public engagement and the social sciences into the development of new research programmes. Thus while there is debate as to practical implications of new forms of deliberative or participatory governance in science policy – and the extent to which this deliberative rhetoric represents an authentic renewal of democracy – recent debate is marked by a consensus regarding the anticipatory and deliberative capacity of public engagement.  However, such a consensus also begs many questions – how are forms of public engagement and deliberation being institutionalised in the governance of science, how can deliberative methods ‘anticipate’ potential public concerns, and will the incorporation of such techniques materially alter the direction of technoscientific innovation? More broadly concerns have been raised regarding the kinds of democracies being enacted in debates about the direction and purposes of technoscientific advance.

The workshop report is available here durham-report.

To read more about the seminar series see here.

Programme

10.30 am Registration, the Joachim Room College of St Hild and St Bede
11.00 am Welcome and Introduction Professor Mike Pennington (Dean for Educational Outreach, Durham University) Dr Matthew Kearnes (Institute of Hazard and Risk Research, Department of Geography, Durham University)
11.30 am Anticipatory Governance Professor Dave Guston (Center for Science Policy and Outcomes, Arizona State University)
12.15 pm Initial responses
12.30 pm Buffet Lunch
1.30 pm Critical Responses 1 Is anticipation compatible with precaution? Dr. Javier Lezaun (Saïd Business School, University of Oxford) Spaghetti Junction: ‘Public engagement’ as an object of study Dr. Sarah Davies (Institute of Hazard and Risk Research, Department of Geography, Durham University) Discussion
2.15 pm Critical Responses 2 Reflections on public engagement in the governance of science Suzanne King (People Science & Policy) Capture, conflict and construction: muddying the waters of public engagement Dr. Sujatha Raman (Institute for Science and Society, University of Nottingham) Discussion
3.00 pm Coffee/tea
3.15 pm Workshop discussion – two breakout groups
4.00 pm Report back Final reflections – Brian Wynne and Andy Stirling
4.45 pm Close

 

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February 25, 2014 in 3S Events, Participation and engagement, Policy and governance, Reports. Tags: Anticipatory governance, precaution, public engagement, public participation

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Policy and Governance

Research in this theme explores the underlying causes, governance challenges and potential policy solutions in the transition to sustainability, particularly with reference to the role of science. ‘Governing’ refers to activities that seek to guide, steer, control or otherwise manage human societies. ‘Governance’ describes the patterns that emerge from these governing activities: administrative organisations such as government ministries, formal policies and programmes, and specific instruments such as emissions trading, and also more informal activities of non-state actors operating alongside, and sometimes wholly independent of, governments. While basic science surrounding societal problems may be rarely contested amongst scientists, debates about how to govern the responses have become more intense. The main barriers to collective action are often political and governance-related, not scientific or technological. Research in this theme aims to better understand this complexity and explore potential solutions.

Participation and Engagement

The rise of public participation in science and the environment in all its forms – ranging from institutionalised invited spaces of engagement to those that are uninvited and citizen-led – has the potential to empower citizens, enhance social justice and the quality of decisions, but also to close down, disempower and exclude. Research under this theme involves the study of democratic experiments and innovations in participatory governance. These are reconfiguring relationships between science, policy and society and coproducing knowledges, appraisals and commitments in response to sustainability challenges.

About 3S

We conduct world-leading research on the social and political dimensions of environment and sustainability issues. 3S is based in the School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, UK.

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