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Nanoscience and nanotechnologies hold the promise of major advances for humanity in the coming decades. The expectations typically include improvements in industrial manufacturing techniques, creation and development of lighter and stronger materials, powerful information
technology which will be available everywhere, more effective medical screening and targeted drug delivery, optimization of transportation, aviation and space exploration, maximization of agricultural productivity with respect to the environment, as well as improved security for citizens and enhanced protection for soldiers.
Yet, despite these apparent potential benefits, nanotechnologies also raise profound questions and concerns about their ethical, legal, and social implications. For instance, with pervasive devices and environments in the making, who will control access to personal information?
Given the potential of biosensors for early diagnostic testing, should unwelcome medical information be made available to every patient or do individuals have the right not to know? As new materials and products are designed and constructed, what is their possible impact on health and the environment?
More generally, who should determine what nanotechnology research and what sorts of
applications can and should be developed?

Objectives

The NanoSoc research project is designed to

• anticipate and explore plausible nanotechnological trajectories, to then construct robust socio-technical scenarios supported by both scientists and the wider community;
• research the interactions and argumentations between experts and the general public in shaping a new technology, through informed discussion and deliberation, and assist in constructively managing and facilitating these proceedings;
• analyze the impact of social learning processes on the research practices of scientists and researchers in the field of nanotechnology.

Through successive participatory rounds with all stakeholders, we aim first to find out which future nanotechnology trajectories are plausible and therefore require further consideration, followed by interchanges as to which trajectories are worth elaborating and refining. More specifically, we focus on three case studies covering different areas of nanotechnology applications in Flanders: smart environment, biosensors, and new materials.
From a learning perspective, we will continuously evaluate the quality of our participatory exercise. This will help us steer and facilitate the repeated interactions between the various stakeholders both constructively and in a timely manner.
Finally, we analyze how the specific institutional context in which nanotechnology scientists and researchers in Flanders operate, shapes their views and attitudes on science and technology, and how these perspectives evolve during the interactive proceedings with other stakeholders.

Methodology

Our research design is interdisciplinary. It aims to integrate both the expertise of social scientists and ethicists, while building on the knowledge base of nanoscientists and engineers, civil society and the public at large. To do justice to the diversity of this environment, we choose reflective action research as our method. The research in itself is an interactive endeavor, as not only will we analyze, but actively take part in the learning process, stimulating actors to question and reflect on their assumptions and activities.
In the first stages of the project (exploring and designing nanotechnology trajectories), we use a three-round Delphi study with scientific experts and citizens. The generated outcomes are translated into future scenarios and presented to all participants for critical examination in a scenario workshop. Stakeholders are then asked to apply value tree analysis to come up with a shared image of a sustainable nanotechnology future. Scientists in turn will perform vision assessment to reflect on the possible strategies that can contribute to realizing that future.
Checklists with points of attention for sound process and content management will be drafted and then applied throughout all the research stages, to help us develop sensitivity to social learning effects and evaluate the interactions of the participants. An impact assessment of the social learning process on existent research practices will take place prior to, during, and after the numerous interchanges. To this end we use an institutional analysis complemented with semi-structured in-depth interviews with key actors.

 

 

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