As scientific discovery and technology, from vaccines and GM crops to the internet and mobile phones, drive forward our society, policy makers are confronted with the increasingly difficult issue of how to communicate scientific ideas, and the benefits and risks associated with them, to the public.
At each of 2005’s three main party conferences, a leading panel of experts including the Science Minister Lord Sainsbury, Vivienne Nathanson, Head of Ethics at the BMA, and Vivienne Parry, Science Correspondent at the Guardian, considered how policy makers can better engage with the public on scientific and technological issues. They also considered the role the media plays, looking at how this needs to change in order to better communicate the real risks and benefits of scientific discovery.
This collection of transcripts highlights the main issues surrounding this debate, as well as making recommendations for improving communication for policy makers, the media, scientists and the public.