Scientific Citizenship and good governance: implications for biotechnology

In the wake of public distrust regarding biotechnology, it has been suggested that the debate should be moved ‘upstream’, whereby the public help to set research priorities. Although many scientists see this as an illogical reaction to a loss of faith in science, we argue that the boundaries between...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Trends in biotechnology (Regular ed.) 2006-02, Vol.24 (2), p.57-61
Main Authors: Davies, Keith G., Wolf-Phillips, Jonathan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Biotechnology
Biotechnology - ethics
Biotechnology - organization & administration
Biotechnology - trends
Ethics, Professional
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Legislation. General informations
Public Opinion
Social Responsibility
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Summary:In the wake of public distrust regarding biotechnology, it has been suggested that the debate should be moved ‘upstream’, whereby the public help to set research priorities. Although many scientists see this as an illogical reaction to a loss of faith in science, we argue that the boundaries between science and its technological applications have become blurred and this produces conflicts of interests that have led to this crisis of trust. Furthermore, this distrust is also a crisis in governance that calls for a new open and democratic approach to scientific research. We propose that the concept of Scientific Citizenship, based on good governance, will help to restore public trust and bridge the gap between science and the society that it serves. Integral to this is the suggestion that the governance of science forms part of the training for scientists.
ISSN:0167-7799
1879-3096
DOI:10.1016/j.tibtech.2005.12.007