UNDERSTANDING DRIVERS OF COMMUNITY CONCERNS ABOUT GENE TECHNOLOGIES

To best engage in effective communication about emerging technologies that are often causes of social concern, the drivers of concern need to be best understood. Better understanding of social concerns enables for better two-way dialogue in providing information or education that also addresses concerns, and provides a mechanism for feedback to developers of new technologies as to what the community is willing to accept and why. Biotechnology Australia has undertaken extensive community research into social attitudes and drivers of these attitudes, to develop a model for analyzing social acceptance of new technologies. These findings underpin models for science-community dialogue.