Worldwide Views on Biodiversity: A Case Study of Technology Assessment and Public Participation

The “p” in “pTA” emphasizes that the people who fund technology development (through taxes and consumer purchases), and who live with its positive and negative consequences, but are not otherwise formally engaged through advocacy, can and should play a role in technology assessment. 

While some advocates for TA called for the inclusion of participatory practices from the beginnings of the field’s evolution in the U.S., action to implement this idea did not begin until the late 1980s, largely in Europe. In society at large, however, participatory practices have expanded considerably over the past two decades in relation to science and technology in particular, and social decision-making in general. 

During this event we will explore one approach to pTA, the World Wide Views exercise on Biodiversity, a global citizen consultation held in 25 countries on September 15, 2012 that provided input to the Eleventh Council of Parties of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.

Please click here to view pictures from this event.