'Fracking', Framing and Effective Participation

水力压裂是一种可以开采非常规化石燃料资源（石油和天然气）的技术。在过去的十年里，这项技术在北美得到了广泛的应用，但在英国还处于早期的发展阶段。英国政府的政策积极鼓励该技术的应用，并在英国的几个地点进行了测试钻井。围绕这项技术的使用，存在着重大的政策和公众争议：一些行为者同时认为它是一种新颖的、有风险的技术，可能对公共健康和环境产生不利影响，但另一些行为者则认为它更普通、更容易管理。此外，一些人认为页岩气能够帮助英国实现减排目标，但另一些人则认为这是一种阻碍。最后，页岩气开发的治理也是冲突的一个来源，对于公众和当地社区在政策和决策中应该有多大程度的发言权，人们有着不同的看法。在不同的群体和利益相关者之间，页岩开发的争议性代表了英国发展的关键社会政治挑战。我们将这一挑战分析为在不同类型的参与者之间理解和看待水力压裂问题（“框架”）的不同方式。我们的目标是通过调查三个不同但相关的研究领域之间的关系，提高对英国页岩开发面临的社会政治挑战的理解：公众对问题的看法，围绕页岩气和水力压裂的政策辩论（“框架”），以及公众参与和参与的正式过程。一项具有全国代表性的公众看法调查，以及对当地社区案例研究（兰开夏郡的Fylde）的深入访谈，将更好地了解公众对页岩水力压裂及其治理的参与者和过程的看法，以及公众对英国页岩开发的接受程度。将对政策辩论进行分析，以更好地理解倡导者提出的论点（“框架”），他们的争论，以及这些辩论如何塑造并继续塑造英国政策。最后，将审查公众参与的正式流程，以评估它们在多大程度上有助于解决或扩大公众对英国页岩开发的接受度挑战。我们对这三个研究领域之间的关系特别感兴趣。例如，我们问，政策辩论在多大程度上反映了公众的观点？公众能影响决策吗？研究结果将引起政策制定者、行业参与者、监管机构、环保组织和对水力压裂和页岩气开发问题感兴趣的公众的兴趣，也会引起气候变化、民主和更广泛的技术社会争议问题的兴趣。这项研究的主要好处将是更好地了解英国页岩气开发面临的社会和政治挑战的规模和性质，以及更好地了解公众参与和参与的潜力，以帮助解决这些挑战。

Hydraulic fracturing ('fracking') is a technology that allows the extraction of unconventional fossil fuel resources (oil and gas). The technology has been widely used in North America over the last decade but is in a much earlier stage of development in the UK. Government policy in the UK is actively encouraging the deployment of this technology and test drilling has taken place at several sites in the UK. There has been significant policy and public controversy around the use of the technology: it is simultaneously viewed by some actors as a novel and risky technology with the potential to adversely affect public health and the environment, but by others as rather more mundane and manageable. Shale gas, furthermore, is viewed by some as able to help the UK meet emissions reduction objectives but by others as hindering this task. Finally, the governance of shale gas development is also a source of conflict, with varying ideas about the ways and extent to which publics and local communities should have a say in policy and decision-making. This contested nature of shale development amongst different groups and stakeholders represents a key socio-political challenge for development in the UK. We analyse this challenge as arising from distinct ways of understanding and viewing the fracking issues ('framing') amongst different kinds of actors. We aim to improve understanding of this socio-political challenge facing shale development in the UK through an investigation of the relationships between three distinct but related research areas: public perceptions of the issue, policy debates ('frames') around shale gas and fracking, and formal processes of public engagement and participation on the matter. A nationally representative survey of public perceptions, as well as in-depth interviewing in a local community case study (the Fylde, Lancashire), will provide a better understanding of public perceptions on fracking for shale and the actors and processes of its governance, and the public acceptability of shale development in the UK. Policy debates will be analysed to better understand the arguments ('frames') put forward by advocates, their contestation, and how these debates have shaped and continue to shape UK policy. Finally, formal processes of public engagement and participation will be examined in order to assess the extent to which they help to resolve or amplify the public acceptance challenge for shale development in the UK. We are particularly interested in the relationships between these three research areas. For example, we ask, how well do policy debates reflect public views? And can the public influence decision making? Research findings will be of interest to policy makers, industry actors, regulators, environmental groups, and members of the public with an interest in the issue of fracking and shale gas development specifically, but also the issues of climate change, democracy and social controversies over technology more broadly. The primary benefit of the research will be to provide both a better understanding of the scale and nature of the social and political challenges facing shale gas development in UK, and a better understanding of the potential of public participation and engagement to help address these challenges.