the-BA : Industry and public knowledge

Thursday 17 November 2005

Are there fundamental differences between how industry and the science communication community carry out dialogue with the public. How do companies conceptualise, access and take account of lay knowledges? How can science communicators embrace a wider perspective so that industry is not seen as a separate entity in the debate?

The research project described how the chemical industry conceive of and use public knowledge, showing that industry mostly sees the public as having concerns which need to be addressed rather than offering knowledge which they can use. A speaker from the Biosciences Futures Forum then discussed their work addressing the issues of reputation and regulation in terms of risk management. The forum aims to identify scientific advances and consider the social, ethical and regulatory questions that they raise.

Speakers:
Dr Kate Burningham
University of Surrey
and principal investigator on the ESRC-funded
'Using public environmental knowledge in industry'
Gill Samuels
Chair of the Biosciences Futures Forum

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