A recent pamphlet(1) by Melissa Leach and Ian Scoones argues that science and technology should be part of a bottom-up, participatory process of development, where citizens themselves take centre stage. They explain, and John Mugabe and Suman Sahai comment.

Forget the race to the top

The slow race is best, say Melissa Leach and Ian Scoones

There are two dominant global science races: the race to the top in the global economy, and the race to the universal fix. Yet we are overlooking a third, less glamorous, but ultimately more important, 'slow' race to citizens' solutions.

This emphasises pathways to poverty reduction which may involve science and technology, but are specific to local contexts. It recognises that technological fixes are not enough, and that social, cultural and institutional dimensions are also key.

The core challenge is how to involve people, especially marginalised people, in decisions about innovation, regulation and technology development. This requires a new vision of citizenship that goes beyond 'public engagement with science'. It needs more active engagement with broader questions about how science and technology agendas are framed, the social purposes they serve, and who stands to gain or lose from these.

Next steps in the slow race

We recommend the piloting of a series of Citizens' Commissions for Science and Technology Futures to facilitate wider deliberation on technology choice and modes of regulation.

The commissions would vary geographically and have diverse foci. Some would be long-term, others temporary. And they would make use of a variety of different media, from face-to-face 'public space' interactions, to online fora, blogs and virtual deliberative communities.

To work well, they would need to go hand-in-hand with developing the capacity of citizens to gain access to, and reflect on, diverse sources of information about technologies and their implications. Their institutional arrangements and operating practices would need to connect to existing institutions and adapt to particular political cultures.

DFID strategy

Today, we are seeing an unprecedented level of international interest and investment in linking science, technology and development. This comes on the back of rapid advances in IT, biotechnology and nanoscience. These hold out the promise of new drugs, vaccines and seeds, and generate claims of breakthroughs that could solve poverty, illness and environmental decline. As we await the forthcoming Science and Innovation Strategy from the Department for International Development, a key question will be whether it can lead the way in meeting the challenges of the slow race to citizens' solutions.

For further information, visit the Institute of Development Studies website. 

Reference

1.  M. Leach and I. Scoones, The Slow Race: Making technology work for the poor (Demos, 2006). 
Professors Melissa Leach and Ian Scoones are in the Knowledge, Technology and Society Team at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex