Social Perception of Science and Technology Governance. Experts vs. Public

Abstract

Science and technology governance has been a recurrent topic for debate in the recent years, both in the academic and the government areas. The perception of the governance of science from an expert’s point of view is a result of the empirical work carried out among the different players who design the science and technology regional policies in Spain. This analysis is completed with the Spanish citizen's appreciation on this subject, gotten from the national survey of social perception of science and technology carried out by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT). The study shows that experts and the public consider a dialog among them as appropriate to build the governance of science. The public’s interest in these issues may causes that its responsibility is transferred to the experts. Furthermore, there is an ambivalent vision regarding the role citizens must play in this sort of actions. The lack of spaces and put into practice the appropriate methods so that a dialog between experts and stakeholders is still an unresolved matter in order to build up some good governance.

Keywords

• percepción pública
• política científica y tecnológica
• gobernanza de la ciencia
• diálogo social