In the U.S. as elsewhere, public engagement activities are increasingly common, and sometimes even mandated, for informing science and innovation policy. However, social science has not kept up with public engagement practices: There is little guidance regarding which forms, features, and contexts of public engagements are 'effective' for what purposes and why.
Intellectual Merit: This project advances scientific understanding of and provides guidance for the design of successful public engagements in science and innovation policy. It accomplishes this via rigorous studies of the effects of varying public engagement features and purposes. The present research applies social-cognitive and learning theories to identify potential mechanisms and explanatory variables by which variations in public engagement activities result in different impacts. Studies are conducted in undergraduate biology courses in which students consider ethical, legal, and social issues relating to nanotechnology. In that context, this research (1) creates and tests measures of the potential explanatory variables and of outcomes relevant to varied definitions of 'effectiveness' of public engagements (e.g., for increasing the quality of input, participant knowledge gains, attitude changes); (2) experimentally investigates the impacts of varying two common dimensions of public engagement; and (3) develops a testable model of public engagement based on those results.
Broader Impacts: The outcomes of this research, including the creation of a testable model of public engagement and the provision of proven tools for continued study of public engagements, are designed to help researchers to further advance the scientific study of public engagement activities. In addition, the present research is designed to provide scientific confirmation that can be used by practitioners to guide their efforts in planning public engagement activities. Finally, by involving biology majors as both research participants and as research assistants, this research benefits science undergraduates, providing them opportunities to learn first-hand about social science research and enhancing their understanding of the value and roles of citizens? contributions to science policy.
