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The Nanodialogues

The Nanodialogues Picture

Four experiments in upstream public engagement

Nanotechnology - the science of small things - promises to be one of the defining technologies of the 21st Century. But what will it mean for society and the environment? And how can public engagement in deciding the direction of research be moved 'upstream'?

Scientists at Large

Posted by Jack Stilgoe at 12:38pm on Thursday, 29th June 2006

A long awaited survey from the Royal Society. It reveals the barriers that scientists feel stop them from getting out of their labs, into the open, talking and listening to members of the public. The major barrier, it seems, is the simple day-to-day pressure of professional research. We identified a similar thing last year in The Public Value of Science, and linked it to debates about public engagement as they fit into the culture of science.

My worry in all of this is that the survey was conducted at a time when definitions of "public engagement" are as varied as the scientists who want to tread streets or tread boards, despite receiving no reward (and sometimes sneers) for doing so. The Royal Society rightly identify their own need to clarify what they mean by public engagement. I'll be interested to see what they come up with. Is it about sending scientists to schools to get people studying science? Is it about public lectures or TV appearances? Is it listening to public values about research, ethics and innovation? Or is it all of things?

It seems, given this recent press release, that we've a way to go before convincing everyone of the value of dialogue about science.

(Update: Man alive, that's a lot of blogging on one day! A record perhaps?)

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