The role for dialogue in polarised issues

GM is back in the news, following the resignation of two Steering Group members of the Food Standard Agency’s (FSA) public dialogue on ‘Food: the role of GM’, part funded by Sciencewise-ERC.

Full details and media coverage of this can be found at the Sciencewise site

The resignations have stimulated an unprecedented, but welcome, debate about how the public is best engaged in informing Government decisions and the role of different interest and stakeholder groups. In particular the debate is discussing whether and how dialogues can be framed and conducted in perceived neutral ways, especially when polarised positions are clearly entrenched. In a radio interview, Matthew Taylor, Director of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), highlights the difficulty of engaging the public on policy decisions where the issue is already polarised in the public mind. Taylor argues that complex issues require the public to be engaged in more deliberative ways such as citizens’ juries but notes that this is “pretty hard” to do well. Importantly, Taylor highlights the key role the public can play in framing complex issues.

Sciencewise-ERC believes that public dialogue, which can include the deliberative methods described by Matthew Taylor, offers an important mechanism for finding ways forward on these controversial issues. It is inviting suggestions and comments from the public, scientists, policy makers and other stakeholders on topics that could be suitable for public dialogue. To keep an eye on results and to suggest topics for dialogue visit 'Help Inform Policy'

You can also debate your views with others at the Sciencewise-ERC forum.