EVS Dissertation Research: Agenda Setting in Scientific Research on Global Warning

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9321298 Cozzens This dissertation research explores the roles of interest groups in agenda setting for federally supported research. The focus is the case of environmental research on global warming. Unlike the active involvement of voluntary organizations in policy making for biomedical research, voluntary organizations in the environmental arena have concentrated on regulatory rather than research policy. The goal of the dissertation is to help to answer the questions of whether and to what extent, and why this is so. Currently, elite and technical groups dominate in many science policy arenas. Voluntary organizations that specialize in particular substantive areas can play an important role in these arenas, by organizing expertise and performing a boundary-spanning, translator role between the broader public concerns and the concerns of the scientific and technical communities. While the role of voluntary organizations in regulatory policy has been studied, their role in longer-term goal-setting has not. This study can therefore extend our understanding of the role of voluntary organizations and provide a step towards increasing democratic participation in setting science agendas. After he completes a review of archival and other documents, the award allows the student to conduct approximately 100 interviews with representatives from government agencies, environmental organizations, and other groups that have been involved in setting environmental research agendas. The final product of this research is a doctoral dissertation, associated articles and presentations, and an executive summary for interviewees and others from nonprofit voluntary organizations who request it. ***