PESTA seminar (27.10.21)
Public engagement in synthetic biology: What’s possible and how do we get there?
Dr Lucy Carter (CSIRO)
Globally, the synthetic biology research community is working hard to engage diverse stakeholders, publics, and communities to understand the broad range of concerns and needs of these groups in considering innovation. The bulk of engagement effort has so far been driven by research organizations and their programs, at times in partnership with philanthropy, government and industry. While aspirations of upstream public ‘dialogue’ are laudable, they remain difficult to achieve given the multiple constraints and legacies that science partnerships need to overcome. This paper describes the gap between the synbio community’s public engagement goals (nationally and globally) and what is possible within the boundaries of applied science institutions. The goal of this presentation is to begin articulating responsible pathways for future science planning, within the boundaries we operate.
When: Wednesday, 27th October 2021, 12-1 PM
Where: Online. Please RSVP to pesta@adelaide.edu.au
Dr Lucy Carter uses her background in bioethics and social science to address complex problems in agriculture, health and biosecurity. As a member of the Maximizing Impact Domain of the Synthetic Biology Future Science Platform at the CSIRO, she helps to design and facilitate stakeholder engagement processes with diverse stakeholders to include multiple perspectives in science decision-making. Her other research interests include interrogating equity and power in international development settings, and applied ethics in novel technologies.