The workshop was held in Canberra on 1 December 2008 to discuss how different sectors of the community viewed social inclusion and engagement. Social inclusion was defined as allowing for genuine inputs into the development of products and policies as well as seeking equitable outcomes or impacts from them.
Public engagement is one of the processes that allows for increased social inclusion. Engagement seeks to achieve increased two-way information flow and knowledge exchange as well as increase overall technological literacy.
New technologies are increasingly becoming the focus of public interests and concerns. Interests are in potential benefits for society particularly in areas of health care and environment. The cause of concerns and the factors driving them are complex, but deliberative engagement processes are shown to allow for improved public input to policy, research and product development, to diminish concerns and result in products and processes that better suit public needs.
The workshop broadly agreed, in principle, that public participation should encompass the following principles:
- Deliberative: emphasises mutual learning and dialogue
- Inclusive: involves a wide range of citizens and groups whose views would not otherwise have a direct bearing on policy deliberation
- Substantive: topics selected that are significant
- Consequential: makes a material difference to the governance of new technologies
BEST PRACTICE PRINCIPLES
The workshop also identified engagement gaps that need to be addressed:
- Increased community input to government policy and regulation
- Increased community input to the social impacts and directions of research
- Improved industry and community dialogue
Follow on activities:
- Future workshops and engagement activities should be issues-based, with regulation as a priority
- An audit of participatory and engagement activities should be undertaken
- Nanotechnology that is now in use should be better identified
Further information:
Contact us
Dr Craig Cormick
Manager
Enabling Technologies, Public Awareness and Community Engagement
GPO Box 9839
CANBERRA ACT 2601
Telephone: +61 2 6213 6805
Email: craig.cormick@innovation.gov.au
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