Author: Singh, Jasber

Source: Participatory Learning and Action, Volume 58, Number 1, June 2008 , pp. 27-32(6)

Publisher: IIED - Participatory Learning and Action

Abstract:

The UK Nanojury was a re-working of the citizens' jury approach to participation. Its most significant difference was that it was comprised of two topics. One was framed by the participants, who chose to focus on young people and exclusion, while the other topic, nanotechnologies, was framed by the jury's funders and organisers. The explicit intention of the proposers of this second topic was to conduct public engagement 'upstream' - in advance of applications of the new technology becoming commercially available.

Yet this idea of 'early' public engagement with developing technologies proved problematic. It became clear that, upstream public engagement on nanotechnology was decontextualised from people's everyday life experiences as highlighted in the Nanojury. As a result, upstream engagement is at risk of becoming little more than a tool that bears no resemblance to people's everyday realities. The Nanojury demonstrated that the concept of upstream engagement needs to be reconsidered. Public engagement focusing on technology should start from people's own experiences and contexts, and so foster the development of new technologies better rooted in people's needs.

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Document Type: Research article

Publication date: 2008-06-01

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• Participatory Learning and Action (formerly PLA Notes) is the world's leading informal journal on participatory approaches and methods. It is published 2-3 times a year and includes articles of both general and thematic interest. PLA draws on the expertise of guest editors and authors, providing timely accounts and critical analysis about participatory development in specific fields. All articles are peer reviewed by an International Editorial Board. Subscriptions are free to readers from the South. For more information and to subscribe, visit www.planotes.org.

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