SESSION DETAILS • Title: Science centres as venues for citizens participation in policy making • Date and time: Mon 17 March, • 2:45 p.m. - 4 p.m. • Session room: Pink room • Reference: R03 • Presenter: David Sittenfeld, Museum of Science, Boston, USA Science Centers in Global and Local Deliberative Policy Making David Sittenfeld Program Manager, Forum Museum of Science, Boston From Public Understanding to Public Engagement Alan Leshner, CEO, AAAS “The centrality of science to modern life bestows an obligation on the scientific community to develop … closer links with the general population … to evolve the compact between science and society so that it will better reflect society's current needs and values. We need to move beyond what too often has been seen as a paternalistic stance. We need to engage the public in a more open and honest bidirectional dialogue about science and technology and their products, including not only their benefits but also their limits, perils, and pitfalls. We need to respect the public's perspective and concerns even when we do not fully share them, and we need to develop a partnership that can respond to them.” (Leshner, 2003). Toronto Declaration, 2008 5th Science Center World Congress: “We will actively seek out issues related to science and society where the voices of citizens should be heard and ensure that dialogue occurs.” Cape Town Declaration, 2011 6th Science Center World Congress: “Further promote dialogue between scientists and the general public, so that public opinions on science and technology can be heard and incorporated into decision-making processes.” Dimensions of Public Engagement with Science, NSF DRL 1010831, L. Bell 2011 government leader citizen school student business leader high school / college student worker scientist/engineer consumer media parent educator Lifecycle of a Decision-maker • Project Developed By Danish Board of Technology (DBT) • September 26, 2009 • 38 nations, 44 sites - 5 in US • MOS/La Cite des Science: 2 participating science centers • ASTC/MOS/DBT: developed December 5 public program as lead-in to COP-15 • http://wwviews.org WWViews Design Criteria • • • • • • • Cheap and easy to implement Clear link to policy-making Both global and national Clear and comparable results (demographic recruitment) Informed citizens (standardized background information) Deliberation Qualitative and quantitative September 15, 2012 • • 4 sites in USA 5 science centers! Welcome ↓ Introduction Format for WWViews Meeting – 30 min. ↓ Thematic sessions Thematic information video – 5 min. Deliberate about 2 or 3 multiple-choice questions – 45 min. Vote on questions – 15 min. (repeated 4 times) ↓ Question focused on national issue (Can be qualitative or quantitative) ↓ Goodbye South Africa China Congo Indonesia (waving to Cameroon) Bolivia Nepal Dominican Republic Palestinian Territory Germany Japan Brazil WWViews citizen participants from Norway, Egypt & Vietnam presenting their findings at UN Climate Summit, December 10, 2009 4 WWV deliberations in USA biodiversity.wwviews.org Danish Ministry of the Environment WWViews Global Coordinator: Danish Board of Technology (DBT) UN Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity Scientific Advisory Board Expert & Citizen Assessment of Science and Technology (ECAST) Network Boston Phoenix • Arizona State University • Arizona Science Center Denver Washington • Colorado School of Mines • Denver Botanical Garden • Virginia Tech • Koshland Science Museum • Arizona State University • Museum of Science Boston • Umass Amherst Two parallel missions Formal/Governmental • Give a voice to everyday lay people • Inform government decision-making processes Informal and Societal • Stimulate broader societal discussion • Explore public reaction early to reduce costly controversy • Support public role in governance An Institutional Network Model Policy relevance Interface with policy-makers Broad dissemination Nonpartisan Policy Research Organizations Science Museums Direct public interface Trusted public educators Innovation in citizen-friendly pedagogy Universities Innovation in TA concepts/methods Research, analysis and evaluation Training of researchers/practitioners Downloadable Biodiversity Quests Deliberation and Engagement Kits? Thank You! [email protected] Museum of Science, Boston http://ecastnetwork.org http://ecastnetwork.wordpress.com/ @ECAST_Network