The Lewis M. Branscomb Science and Democracy Forums

Through its Center for Science and Democracy, the Union of Concerned Scientists is organizing a series of Science and Democracy Forums to address major constraints on the roles of science, evidence-based decision-making and constructive debate in American public discourse and public policy.

These forums are convened in partnership with universities, science museums, and other institutions embodying the themes of science and democracy. Each forum has three components:

• a 1-3 day problem-solving workshop with invited experts and practitioners across relevant disciplines
• an open “town hall” that builds a vigorous public dialogue between experts and the public around the core issues addressed in the workshop
• follow-on products and partnerships that drive forward emerging ideas and approaches.

The forums are named in honor of Lewis M. Branscomb, Aetna Professor of Public Policy and Corporate Management, emeritus, in Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, reflecting both his partnership with UCS in the development of the Center and his long-standing leadership in building a vital role for science in policymaking through distinguished service in government, academia and the private sector.

We expect to convene six to eight forums over the next three years, primarily in following three issue areas:

Communicating Science in a Distracted Age. This series addresses key challenges and opportunities to build public and decision-maker acceptance of policy-relevant science in the face of deliberate misinformation and distraction exacerbated by the expansion of digital media and competing cultural values.

Science and Regulation. This series examines constraints to incorporating science into the practice of key regulatory agencies, such as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency. The forums address barriers within agencies as well as barriers posed by broader cultural and political resistance to incorporating scientific evidence into regulation.

Science and Corporate Accountability. These forums are designed to build new understanding and partnerships to address the role of corporations in influencing public understanding of science and the outcomes of government decisions where corporate interests are at stake.  

The Science and Democracy Forums share a common set of goals:

• to help ensure that citizens and elected officials can more effectively identify, value, and rely upon legitimate sources of scientific information essential to ensuring the nation’s health, well-being and security.
• to expand knowledge about the core forum topics and to model the evidence-based dialogue across disciplines and ideologies that is so lacking in current American public discourse and public policy.
• to build new and diverse networks of people and institutions, to meaningfully engage key segments of the American public, and motivate and catalyze new work and new partnerships.
• to lay the groundwork for demonstrable improvements in the use of science in our nation’s governance.  

UCS is currently in the initial stages of designing two forums for fall 2012 through spring 2013. We anticipate that the first will focus on corporate accountability and confidentiality, exploring ways to balance legitimate proprietary interests with the transparency that is essential to robust science and the protection of public health. The second will likely focus on social media and science communication, bringing together journalists, social media experts, and social scientists to assess and improve the use of behavioral and technological tools for creating greater accountability for communicating science in the digital world.

The learning from these and other forums will be further amplified through, for example,  webcasts of town-hall events, short reports produced following workshops, social media engagement of forum participants, and symposia at scientific association meetings and other venues.

RECENT FORUMS

Improving Citizen Access to Government Information

September 25, 2012

This Branscomb Forum looked at ways to improve access to governmental scientific information, bringing diverse stakeholders together to consider barriers to access and current efforts to overcome them. The centerpiece of the forum was a half-day symposium held at the Newseum in collaboration with the First Amendment Center.

Lewis M. Branscomb

Lewis M. Branscomb is Aetna Professor of Public Policy and Corporate Management (emeritus) in Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. Until July 1996, he directed the school's Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program in the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.

He currently holds two appointments at the University of California at San Diego, Adjunct Professor in the School for International Relations and Pacific Studies (IRPS) and Research Associate in the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO).

His current research focuses on domestic and international research and innovation policy, information infrastructure, policies to make the world safer and more secure from disasters, and on the management of science and technology in the furtherance of democratic governance, economic equity and safety and security.

Branscomb was appointed by President Johnson to the President's Science Advisory Committee (1964-1968) and by President Reagan to the National Productivity Advisory Committee. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Academy of Public Administration. He served on the Technology Assessment Advisory Committee to the Technology Assessment Board of the United States Congress, and in 1991 was appointed to the Massachusetts Governor's Council on Economic Growth and Technology.

In December, 1998, he was awarded the Okawa Prize "for outstanding contributions to the progress of informatics, scientific and technological policy and corporate management."

Prof. Branscomb has written extensively on information technology, comparative science and technology policy, and management of technology.