When Science and Citizens Connect: Public Engagement on Genetically Modified Organisms

January 15-16, 2015
National Academy of Sciences
Washington, DC

This 2-day workshop explored what is known about successful models in scientific engagement with the public.  We used the topic of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as an example to focus the discussion. Geared for life science researchers and also the broader life science community, the workshop featured many speakers at the forefront of the science of science communication.   Speakers provided perspectives on scientific engagement in a world where science is interpreted through a variety of lenses, including values and predisposition, and present  ways that scientists can improve engagement by using the findings of social scientists. The workshop included breakout sessions in which participants examine recent examples of interfaces involving GMOs.

• Agenda
• Participant Bios
• Materials for Breakout Sessions
• Suggested Reading List

• Workshop Summary
• Presentations (PDF)
• Video Playlist (YouTube)
• Commentary & Conversation: independent perspectives; views do no necessarily reflect those of the workshop participants, the members of the Public Interfaces Roundtable, or the National Academy of Sciences.
  • Five Models of Science Engagement, Roger Pielke Jr., University of Colorado, Boulder
  • 4 Provocative Ideas on Scientific Communication, Jill Kuehnert, SeedStories
  • The Tricky Terrain for GMO Communication, Keith Kloor, Discover Magazine
  • GMOs and Climate Change: Why do people believe what they do?, James Cooper, The Examiner
  • Breaking Out of the Echo Chamber, Becca Harrison, Cornell Alliance for Science
  • Public Engagement on Genetically Modified Organisms: An Update from the Field, Grace Troxel, Center for the Advancement of Informal Science Education
  • No Silver Bullets: SciComm Insights from NAS Workshop, Brooke Smith, COMPASS
  • The National Academy Takes on Science Communication and GMOs, David Shifrin, PLOS Blogs

Workshop Organizers: Dietram Scheufele, University of Wisconsin-Maidson (chair); Joe Arvai, University of Calgary; Sarah Davidson Evanega, Cornell University; Fred Gould, North Carolina State University; Brooke Smith, COMPASS

The Roundtable on Public Interfaces of the Life Sciences (PILS) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine was a multidisciplinary forum that ran from 2013 to 2015. The PILS Roundtable is no longer active, but many of the discussions initiated during its workshops have continued in independent venues within and outside of the NASEM.

This website is no longer regularly updated.

Please visit National Academies Press website for the most recent NASEM reports and workshop summaries on public engagement and science communication.