DEMOS

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 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.

RSVP by email to science@demos.co.uk