Dilemmas of public participation in science policy

Gene Rowe, Richard Watermeyer

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

16 Citations (SciVal)
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Abstract

Public participation is ubiquitous in many contemporary democratic societies – used for many purposes, and in many contexts, with particular and growing relevance for policy-making on science and technology issues. However, there is a dearth of evidence as to its qualities and benefits. We contend that the implementation and interpretation of participation faces a number of dilemmas that – together –undermine its successful adoption. In this paper, we identify and discuss six specific dilemmas that – together – may militate against the practice and development of good quality participation in science and technology policy, notably dilemmas of Timing; of Relevance; of Representation; of Evaluation; of Criticism; and of Impact. We theoretically account for these dilemmas and discuss their likely impacts. Finally, we provide some suggestions as to how the participation community might attempt to pre-empt difficulties due to these dilemmas and demonstrate participation effectiveness.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)204-221
Number of pages18
JournalPolicy Studies
Volume39
Issue number2
Early online date20 Mar 2018
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2018

Keywords

  • Public participation
  • dilemmas
  • evaluation
  • impact
  • public engagement

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Political Science and International Relations

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