Risk, Democratic Citizenship and Public Policy

Wednesday 6 June and Thursday 7 June 2001

The British Academy
10 Carlton House Terrace
London SW1 5AH

Purpose

To examine the issues that arise in the making of public policy decisions on questions of risk and safety, particularly over environmental standards and food safety, and to present the contribution that the social sciences and humanities can make to the understanding of those issues.

In particular, the conference will focus on the relationship between public opinion and preferences over risk issues and the making of public policy. How closely does public policy match the public's preferences on questions of risk? How closely ought public policy to match those preferences?

Background

In recent years there has been growing concern about the effectiveness and legitimacy of public decision-making about risk. Many, often inconsistent, criticisms have been advanced about the processes of decision-making involved in controlling risks. Some say that decision-making is insufficiently precautionary; others that it stifles innovation and raises the costs of production to uncompetitive levels. Some argue that standards need to be tightened; others that they need to be made more consistent. There is a recognition that the public needs to be more actively and effectively engaged in the process of setting risk standards. But there is little understanding of how best to do this. Organised science clearly has a place in setting standards of risk control, but scientific findings cannot substitute for the value judgements that need to be made. There is concern lest media ‘scare stories’ distort the perception of risk, along with doubts that the standard setting process is sufficiently transparent in serving the public interest.

These concerns have been sparked by a series of high profile issues that at various times in the last twenty-five years or so have made headline news. They include: the debate about the safety of nuclear power; the policy response to acidification and global climate change; the Brent Spa episode; and, most recently, the UK government’s handling of the BSE issue and the controversy over GM crops.

However, difficult or troubling cases are more widespread than this list suggests. They include important issues that have not been such high profile (hazards from carbon monoxide, OP sheep dip, radon or animal-to-human transplants). They also include questions about how to deal with emerging technologies (cloning or gene therapy).

Although these problems have been of considerable interest in the UK, concerns are far more widespread both in the EU, where the precautionary principle is incorporated into Treaty provisions, and among international organisations.

Registration

Attendance is by invitation only.

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PROGRAMME

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Wednesday 6 June

0930 Coffee and registration 1000 Risk: Its Forms and Varieties ‘Risks, Benefits, Costs and Policy’ Speaker: Professor Graham Loomes (Newcastle University) 1045 Public Opinion, Public Values and Risk Policy ‘Setting Standards for Risk Regulation’ Speaker: Professor Sir Tom Blundell (Cambridge University) 1115 Coffee 1145 ‘Public Opinion: Our Understanding from Opinion Polls’ Speaker: Professor Bob Worcester (MORI) ‘Public Opinion: Our Understanding from Deliberative Techniques’ Speaker: Professor Brian Wynne (Lancaster University) 1315 Lunch 1400   ‘The Role of the Media’ Speaker: Professor Ian Hargreaves (Cardiff University) 1445 ‘Non-Governmental Organizations’ Speaker: Professor Grant Jordan (University of Aberdeen) 1530 Tea 1545 Stakeholder Response to Risk 1545 ‘Business Risk Management’ Speaker: Professor Joyce Tait (University of Edinburgh) 1630 'Internationalised Risk Governance' Speaker: Professor Arild Underdal (Oslo University) 1715 Break 1730 'Fear and Reason: Toward a Progressive Politics of Risk' Speaker: Professor Sheila Jasanoff (Harvard University) 1900 Drinks and buffet supper

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Thursday 7 June

0900 Case Studies in Risk Management 0900 ‘BSE I’ Speaker: Professor Malcolm Ferguson-Smith (University of Cambridge) 0945 ‘Vaccination’ Speaker: Professor Peter Lachmann (Academy of Medical Sciences) 1045 Coffee 1115 ‘GM Crops I’ Speaker: Professor Alan Ryan (New College, Oxford University) 1200 ‘GM Crops II’ Speaker: Professor Jules Pretty (University of Essex) 1245 Lunch 1330 ‘Chemicals’ Speaker: Professor Eva Dietrichson (National Chemicals Inspectorate, Sweden) 1415 ‘The Risk Game and the Blame Game’ Speaker: Professor Christopher Hood (LSE) 1500 Tea 1530 The Design of Risk Governance 1530 ‘The Policy Agenda’ Speaker: tbc 1615 ‘Social Amplification of Risk’ Speaker: Professor Nick Pidgeon (University of East Anglia) 1700 Round Table 1700 ‘Scientific Understanding and Democratic Citizenship’ Participants: Professor Sheila Jasanoff plus others to be confirmed 1800 End

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The British Academy
10, Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AH
Telephone: 020 7969 5200
Fax: 020 7969 5300
Web site: http://www.britac.ac.uk