How Do Governance Mechanisms for Science and Technology Travel Across Borders? 2

Session Submission Type: Open Panel

Abstract

A major theme in transnational STS is technology transfer; highlighting that one cannot take a technology from one place to another and expect it to function in the same way. Technologies may fail, attain different functions, or be altered entirely. Not only do technologies travel, but so do the mechanisms for governing science and technology. Models of innovation, frameworks of risk assessment, blueprints for public participation, and metrics for technological performance all travel from country to country.

In this panel, we explore what happens when governance mechanisms for science and technology travel across the globe. Literature from policy studies often departs from linear models of policy transfer and predominantly focuses on international organizations like the European Union and OECD. We aim to take a more symmetrical view, building upon recent literature on travelling imaginaries (Pfotenhauer and Jasanoff, 2017) and risk colonization (Beumer, 2017), to understand what exactly happens when governance mechanisms for science and technology travel from one place to another. We invite papers that help to feed critical discussions about the way science and technology governance travels, answering questions such as: how do actors draw upon practices from other places and adapt them to local conditions; what actor constellations are involved in making governance mechanism travel in different countries; what happens to governance mechanisms once they are appropriated in different contexts; how do travelling governance mechanisms abate or exacerbate inequality; and what kind of international governance mechanisms for science and technology are being developed?

Sub Unit

• Papers for Open Panels / How do governance mechanisms for science and technology travel across borders?

Chair

• Noela Invernizzi, Universidade Federal do Parana

Individual Presentations

• Of Bits and Pretzels and Bureaucracies: Regional Innovation Cultures and “Conservative Innovation” in Bavaria - Sebastian Michael Pfotenhauer, Technical University Munich; Alexander Wentland, Technical University of Munich; Luise M Ruge, TU München

• Targeting Inequality through Science and Innovation Policy: Undone Science versus Inclusive Innovation - Thomas S Woodson, Stony Brook University; Logan Dawn April Williams, Inclusive Research By Design

• Travelling Risk. The Governance of Nanotechnology Risk in India and South Africa - Koen Beumer

• When biobanks go global: ethical challenges and governance responses - Lisa Dive, Sydney Health Ethics; Edwina Light, Sydney Health Ethics, University of Sydney; Miriam Wiersma, Sydney Health Ethics; Ian Kerridge, Sydney Health Ethics; Wendy Lipworth, Sydney Health Ethics, University of Sydney

Session Organizers

• Koen Beumer

• Noela Invernizzi, Universidade Federal do Parana