Governance of ethics in science and technology
Ethical debates often inform the policy decisions that drive innovation in the European Research Area (ERA). China and India, the two biggest emerging economies, have their own ethical considerations following local dynamics often not well understood even by expert communities within each region. Initial steps toward a roadmap for global policies governing ethics in science were taken as part of the EU-funded 'Global ethics in science and technology' (GEST) project. It aimed to create collaboration among key S&T policy advisory institutes in China, Europe and India with a focus on effectively incorporating ethics into S&T policy. The scientific focus was on interdependent developments in nanotechnologies, food technologies and synthetic biology. Researchers explored the social determinants of policymaking in the three regions with respect to perceived risks and benefits and public stances on morality. A series of events covered the whole range of issues of GEST in all regions. Many activities were organised by GEST to stimulate discussion and collaboration. Two workshops in China focused on China-Europe cooperation and a panel discussion at the 99th Indian Science Congress targeted ethics in S&T policy. The final GEST conference in India spurred a renewed push to establish a governmental S&T ethics advisory body in the country. GEST was presented at the Euroscience Open Forum 2012, Europe's largest general science meeting. A workshop at the European Parliament about the project resulted in submission of common publications with the European Parliament's Science and Technology Options Assessment (STOA) Secretariat. In the end, GEST delivered an Ethical Framework Analytic Tool for analysing S&T debates within the context of ethics that can be equally well applied in all three regions. The tool was tested on governance of the three scientific areas, enabling the project team to identify areas of similarities and differences, individual strengths and weaknesses. The common methodology for analysing S&T ethics could set a global standard. The discussions and debates spurred by GEST ensure that the project's impact will be felt long after its completion.
Keywords
Ethics, science and technology, S&T, innovation, S&T policy
