Kingdoms of Engagement: Reflecting on Stakeholder Engagement Exercises Focused on GE Algae, Trees, and Mice

• In Event: Reflecting on Reflexivity in Practice: Responsible Innovation, Engagement, and Governance - II

Abstract

Scholarship in responsible innovation has helped move calls for public engagement from vague notions of outreach (that rest comfortably in the deficit model) to a set of ambitious challenges for practices of science, communication, and engagement. Anticipation encourages upstream engagement; inclusion demands attention to who is engaged; responsiveness requires action that extends beyond increased understanding; and reflexivity encourages reflection at multiple stages by those inside and outside the laboratories of innovation, broadly understood (Stilgoe, Owen, and Macnaghten, 2013). To put such ideas in practice, I have led three experiments in stakeholder engagement, partly as a means to enroll stakeholders in the design decisions required to carry out broader future engagement of publics and communities. Topics covered three kingdoms of genetically engineered (GE) organisms: 1) EPA guidelines for regulating GE algae and other microorganisms; 2) the potential deployment of a GE American chestnut tree for species restoration; and 3) the development of a gene drive mouse as a means to reduce populations of invasive mice that threaten biodiversity on islands. This paper draws upon our experiences across these three cases, reflecting upon the assumptions, successes, and shortcomings of our engagement model. In what ways have we enabled the practice of reflexivity - among stakeholders, innovators, and ourselves as engagement designers? What do our experiences contribute to the quest for more responsible innovation in the field of emerging biotechnologies?

Author

• Jason A. Delborne, North Carolina State University