Creating Space for Reflexivity: Facilitating Dialogue Between Scientists and Stakeholders

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

Abstract

Seeking new solutions for the increasingly complex and costly issue of invasive species management, the Genetic Biocontrol of Invasive Rodents program is developing a gene drive mouse to eliminate populations of invasive mice on islands that threaten biodiversity. Cognizant of the potentially broad impacts of the technology and the need for new processes to account for the lack of technological precedent, the group has incorporated stakeholder engagement concurrently with the research and development phases. To this end, an expert stakeholder engagement workshop was held in March 2019 to facilitate dialogue between scientists and stakeholders about innovation options and scenarios for field trials and potential deployment of gene drive mice. As a research opportunity, this workshop offered a space to analyze the potential role of reflexivity, enabled by a process that confronts researchers with direct feedback from diverse stakeholders in a workshop setting. To assess this, we observed the workshop and surveyed and interviewed select participants to understand their perceptions of the workshop and how it furthered their thoughts on values, risk, and engagement. Based on this analysis, our paper suggests the ways that stakeholder engagement practices can produce a space of reflexivity where researchers confront their own assumptions and imagine alternative scenarios for their innovative technologies to move into the world.

Authors

• Danielle Costantini, North Carolina State University

• Dalton George, North Carolina State University