Knowledge transfer from citizens’ panels to regulatory bodies in the domain of nano-enabled medical applications

What future for the European social sciences and humanities?1

“…The issue is the balance between traditional policy-making in the set-up of a representative democracy and civil society. At present, the influence of active pressure groups is an important element in modern democratic processes (Evers and D'Silva 2009). Representative democracy has, however, to ensure that the influence of civil society Innovation Á The European Journal of Social Science Research 155 actors does not undermine the rights of those who are not able to voice their concerns or gain the same influence as those who are able to assert their interests themselves.…”

Public Engagement with Emerging Issues in Agri‐Food Nanotechnology

“…This has been described by Pidgeon and Rogers -Hayden [3] . Burri [34] reports on a similar approach (a " citizens ' panel " ) held in Switzerland, while Evers and D ' Silva [35] discuss another citizens ' panel held as part of a Flemish technology assessment project (albeit on nano -applications in the medical, not agri -food, domain).…”

“…If the intent of an exercise is more than this -to give other stakeholders (which may include the public) some real say and ownership of the problem issue, then participative approaches seem suitable. (Evers and D ' Silva [35] note that it is often unclear how regulatory actors can actually proceed from the output of such exercises, and perhaps this needs to be clearly specifi ed at the outset.) Being clear on the aims of a process can also help to inform the appropriate criteria for evaluating that process (see point 3).…”

Nanotechnology, Risk, and Oversight: Learning Lessons from Related Emerging Technologies

“…Scenario analysis has also been used to engage the public in discussions of future nanotechnology developments and potential oversight approaches. (41,42) A convergence of historical and scenario approaches that elicits input from citizens, stakeholders, and experts seems ideal to chart the course for emerging technologies such as nanotechnology.…”