Is there space for co-production in dialogue?

Writing in nature this month Colin Macilwain argues that without effective public engagement, there will be no synthetic biology in Europe.

The piece praises the recent BBSRC and EPSRC public dialogue on synthetic biology, which was part-funded by Sciencewise-ERC. Macilwain argues that the challenge now the dialogue has started is to maintain public participation in the long term as the discipline develops and, some believe, could even include the public helping to design regulatory mechanisms for synthetic biology.

There have to date been few, if any, instances of coordinated public engagement being successfully used in this way over a long time period. For long-term public engagement to be successful, those designing a strategy for it will be required to think about it in all its forms. The idea of involving the public in the design of regulation is very much in tune with the current vogue in policy circles for co-production.

Several reports on co-production have been published, including by the Cabinet Office and NESTA.

http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/207033/public_services_co-production.pdf

http://www.nesta.org.uk/publications/reports/assets/features/the_challenge_of_co-production

These emerging forms of public engagement are often focused more directly on public services and are still in a phase of experimentation. It is therefore encouraging to see some advocating their use in the sciences, particularly in the long term context. Sciencewise-ERC is currently funding a project which uses co-production as a method to drive low-carbon communities.