Vanessa Spedding hears from the BA’s new President, David King
He spent seven years as the government’s chief scientific advisor. He has made headlines with his assertion that climate change presents a greater threat than terrorism and his support for nuclear power and GM foods. Now Professor Sir David King, Director of the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at Oxford University and Director of Research (Chemical Physics) at Cambridge University, is turning his energy, experience and forthright approach to the challenges facing him at the helm of the BA.
Whatever these may be, Sir David is already attuned to the main thrust of the BA’s strategy: to create a positive social climate in which science can thrive. ‘This is a very important strategy,’ he affirmed, ‘so everything I do will fit in with it. It requires moving on from the old notion of scientists talking to the public to scientists engaging with the public. How we can best implement that process is the question.’
Cut out NGOs
Sir David will be drawing on a wealth of experience to help him steer the best course. He has ridden the rough with the smooth during his time in government – and sees the GM consultation as a prime example of the former. ‘The GM consultation involved three aspects: research into the economic benefits; a scientific analysis of the risks and benefits to biodiversity and human health (which I led on); and the public debate. We learned that the way we conducted the public debate was precisely how not to do it.
‘There had been the sense that all we had to do was to create a space for the public to talk … [but] the net result was that the meetings attracted a small but outspoken group of anti-GM people wherever they occurred. So we effectively gave space to those campaigning against GM to air their views.’ Since pro-GM experts were not present to counter these views, he considers that this resulted in unfair bias against the technology; indeed he suggests the influence of organised groups can skew the public’s ability to interpret science clearly. ‘We know that on any issue, NGO voices are heard loud and clear however many people they represent,’ he added.
His solution is straightforward: ‘We allow scientists and the public to engage directly; then the two can interact and influence each other more effectively.’
BA needs to celebrate science
Sir David referred to the ScienceWise project as an illustration of a more successful approach to public engagement (see SPA, December 2007, p9). That, he says, set a very good standard for the process. He is keen to explore how this approach could be continued and expanded using the wide reach of the BA.
It is clear that Sir David is in no doubt of the BA’s potential to further the cause of science. In his opinion, the public has a healthy appetite for science – as evidenced by the growing amount of space given to science-based stories across the media. He believes we would like still more, citing ‘tremendous excitement and interest’ in big scientific advances and the scientific answers to big questions, especially where risk is involved, such as with the spread of the avian flu virus.
What’s less clear to him is whether the BA is as confident as it should be about tapping into this appetite, notwithstanding its expertise at organising events and festivals, which he respects. ‘I want to ensure that the BA highlights the positive contribution that scientists are making to the world. Its editorial outputs suggest that it is missing an opportunity to celebrate these contributions. This is certainly a question I shall be asking during my tenure.’
Connecting scientists and the public
He has other things on his mind, not least whether the BA could offer a platform for furthering the universal ethical code for scientists, which was devised in 2006 by the Council for Science and Technology on his instigation (SPA March 2006, p21). ‘[The code] defines how scientists should conduct themselves,’ he explained. ‘We need to explain to scientists and to the public that this is what we expect our scientists to do. This can help allay the fears they have about each other.’
Which brings us back to the prominent theme that recurs throughout Sir David’s reflections: that the BA’s potential lies in building on its platforms for connecting scientists and the public without the mediation and influence of the media or NGOs, so that each can gain an unfiltered understanding of the aspirations, limitations, and concerns of the other.
Vanessa Spedding is a freelance science journalist based in Herefordshire