Public participation in science and technology: why the failure to launch?

Efforts to enhance public engagement with science and democracy have lost their way. Here are some suggestions for remaking participation

For good reason the desire for public involvement in science and policy making has become something of an obsession, whether in the corridors of the recent Paris COP21 meeting, in debates over energy policy and fracking, or in the everyday practice of science. While there has been an explosion of activity and some notable successes in expanding the number of people involved in addressing today's pressing global challenges, we see a continued focus on a few rather rigid models of participation. Initiatives repeatedly invite members of the public into rooms to deliberate over our common future, attempt to capture public sentiment about scientific issues through polls or surveys, or try to nudge citizens to adopt behaviours in line with a future that has already been largely determined.

For example, at the COP21 negotiations in Paris, attempts to feed in the views of over 10,000 global citizens through the World Wide Views on Climate and Energy initiative - purported to be largest ever global citizen consultation on climate and energy - sat alongside commitments to promote behaviour change. The same dynamics are evident in UK energy policy. Publics are repeatedly surveyed or invited to deliberate issues like fracking, while at the same time being encouraged to adopt behaviours that reduce or shift patterns of energy demand.