Understanding Public Debate on Nanotechnologies: Options for Framing Public Policy

A Report from the European Commission Services

This publication consists of a series of research articles on the nature of public debate on nanosciences and nanotechnologies, and the ways in which deliberative approaches could lead to better governance of these technologies. Of these, the project FRAMINGNANO involved the development of a governance plan for nanotechnologies. NANOCAP was a capacity building exercise through which European Trade Unions and Environmental NGOs adopted resolutions and positions on the governance of nanotechnologies. The DEEPEN project elaborated the ethics of nanotechnologies and investigated the narratives which underlie public discourse, while NANOPLAT proposed a new deliberative platform for consumers of nanotechnologically-enabled products and, in the course of doing this, evaluated a number of different approaches to deliberation.

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Edited by René von Schomberg and Sarah Davies