SGER: Nanotechnology and Biotechnology: Understanding Responses of U.S. and Canadian Citizens

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This Societal Dimensions of Engineering, Science and Technology Small Grants for Exploratory Research proposal requests modest funding to leverage U.S. participation in an international project involving Canadian, U.S., and potentially U.K. and other European citizens responses to both nanotechnology and biotechnology. Survey research in the U.S. and Canada on biotechnology issues has been conducted by the Canadian Biotechnology Secretariat (CBS) on two previous occasions in 2003 and 2004. A third comparison study is planned for early 2005 (February). This third comparison study is (a) designed to include nanotechnology, not previously considered in CBS work; (b) designed to include focus group work in the U.S., previously conducted only in Canada; and (c) intended to be coordinated, as opportunities arise, with U.K. and broader European studies using parallel methodology and topics being developed at the London School of Economics (LSE). Additionally, the project is collecting relevant media data in the U.S. and Canada, also with CBS support. Funding is urgently needed to expand U.S. data collection (focus groups) in a timely way, so that the U.S. and Canada can be more directly compared and better insights gained. This will be followed by a proposal to the NSF Human and Social Dimensions program for the February 9, 2005, Exploratory Research and Community Development competition, as well as a possible future SDEST proposal. The overall goal of this work is to solidify, extend, and further develop an international team of social scientists and policy analysts interested in public responses to a range of emerging technologies. The intellectual merit of this work is that it will capitalize on a unique opportunity to collect comparative data on how the general ("lay" or non-scientist) public responds to emerging technologies such as nanotechnology and biotechnology, including the opportunity to gain perspective on how biotechnology and nanotechnology are alike and different in this regard. The broader impact is that it has the potential to help shape policy and communication strategies at the national and international levels. It will also facilitate the maintenance and expansion of a pre-existing international research team pursuing questions of the relationship between culture, national policy, media coverage and public responses to new technologies.