DEMOS

Demos, Involve and the Science and Democracy Network invite you to join us for a day of discussion on Tuesday 26 June. (See full pdf).

From 09:30 to 15:30, we will be launching two reports, which present the results of the public engagement that has taken place in the UK through the Nanodialogues project and the Nanotechnology Engagement Group

In 2004, the Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering published a groundbreaking report on nanotechnologies, and called for more public debate. Three years on, where do we stand? Has public engagement become part of the fabric of nanoscience? Is it only being used to manage risks, or has it also helped to shape innovation trajectories?

This discussion will be followed in the afternoon by a keynote address from Sir David King, and a debate on ‘A new social contract for science?’

Agenda

09:30    Registration and coffee

10:00    The Nanodialogues: four experiments in public engagement

Chair: James Wilsdon, Head of Science and Innovation, Demos

Jack Stilgoe, Senior Researcher, Demos

Brian Wynne, Professor of Science Studies, Lancaster University

Ann Dowling, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of Cambridge and chair, Royal Society/Royal Academy of Engineering working group on nanoscience and nanotechnology

11:10    Tea and coffee

11:30    The Nanotechnology Engagement Group

Chair: Richard Jones, Professor of Physics, University of Sheffield and Chair of Nanotechnology Engagement Group

Key findings: Richard Wilson, Director, Involve

Panel Discussion:

Sir John Beringer, Professor of Molecular Genetics, Bristol University and chair of the Council for Science and Technology Nanotechnology sub-committee

Pierre-Benoit Joly, Research Director, National Institute of Agronomic Research (INRA), France

David Guston, Director of the Center for Nanotechnology in Society, Arizona State University, USA

Public Participants from Nanojury and Nanodialogues

13:00    Lunch

14:00    Where next for public engagement in science?

Chair: Richard Wilson, Involve

Keynote address:

Sir David King, Chief Scientific Advisor to the UK Government and Head of the Office of Science and Innovation

With responses from:

Sheila Jasanoff, Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies, Harvard University

Richard Jones, Professor of Physics, University of Sheffield

Doug Parr, Chief Scientist, Greenpeace UK

15:30    Tea

16:00    DEBATE: ‘A new social contract for science?’

In these final days of Tony Blair’s premiership, there is widespread speculation about the changes in policy that his successor will introduce. Science is one area being tipped for a shakeup, perhaps through the creation of a new ministry, or a merger with education and skills. Tinkering with the machinery of government is one way of signaling a fresh start, but will such changes be accompanied by any more fundamental reappraisal of the changing social and political context for science?  

There is now a growing recognition that knowledge societies demand knowing citizens, with a voice in decisions about science. At the same time, boundaries are blurring between public and private interests in research. And the traditional dominance of Europe and the US is being challenged by the rise of new centres of innovation. How successfully are policymakers in the UK and elsewhere grappling with these challenges? Are relations between science and society improving or getting worse? How might things change under a new PM, a new science minister and – potentially –  a new department? Our panel of leading thinkers will debate whether we need a new social contract for science.

Sheila Jasanoff, Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies, Harvard University

David Edgerton, Professor of History of Science and Technology, Imperial College London and author The Shock of the Old

Ben Goldacre, Doctor, writer and ‘Bad science’ columnist for The Guardian

Hilary Rose, Emerita Professor of Social Policy, University of Bradford

Andy Stirling, Professor of Science and Technology Policy, University of Sussex

Chair: James Wilsdon, Demos

This final session is co-hosted with the Science and Democracy Network (www.ksg.harvard.edu/sts/about/sdn.htm), and marks the start of the 2007 SDN meeting, which takes place from 27-29 June in Cambridge.

18:00    Drinks reception

RSVP by email to science@demos.co.uk and let us know whether you would like to attend for the whole day, the 9:30-4pm sessions or the 4pm-6:00pm session