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Enhancing Informed Decision Making (Print This) | |
In a modern nation like the United States, a substantial number of decisions have a technological component. Outside the formal school setting, one of the best ways to become educated about technology is to engage in discussions of the pros and cons, risks and benefits, knowns and unknowns of a particular technology or technological choice. Engagement in decision making is likely to have a direct, positive effect on the nonexpert participants, and involving the nonexpert public in deliberations about technological developments as they are taking shape, rather than after the fact, may actually shorten the time and reduce the resources required to bring new technologies into service. Equally important, public participation may also result in design changes that better reflect the needs and desires of society.
RECOMMENDATION 7
Industry, federal agencies responsible for carrying out infrastructure projects, and science and technology museums should provide more opportunities for the nontechnical public to become involved in discussions about technological developments.
The technical community-especially engineers and scientists in industry-is largely responsible for the amount and quality of communication and outreach to the public on technological issues. Industry should err on the side of encouraging greater public engagement, even if it may not always be clear what types of technological development merit public input. In the federal arena, some agencies already require recipients of funding to engage communities likely to be affected by planned infrastructure projects. These efforts should be expanded. In general, efforts to enhance public involvement in technological decision making could benefit from the experiences of other nations, particularly Denmark and Holland.
The informal education sector, especially museums and science and technology centers, is well positioned to prepare the nontechnical public to grapple with the complexities of decision making in the technological realm. These institutions and the government agencies, companies, and foundations that support them could do much more to encourage public discussion and debate about the direction and nature of technological development at both the local and national level.
Informed decision making is important for all citizens of a democracy and is vital for leaders in government and industry whose decisions influence the health and welfare of the nation. State and federal legislators, who set policy and allocate resources, largely determine the national agenda in education, national security, health care, and many other areas. Industry shapes the consumer culture and drives economic growth and productivity through investments in research, product development, and marketing.
Government and industry both face a daunting array of issues with substantial technological components, from the creation and regulation of genetically modified organisms to the future of the Internet and e-commerce. The committee believes there is a great unmet need in both sectors for information and education that would contribute to more informed decision-making about technological matters.
RECOMMENDATION 8
Federal and state government agencies with a role in guiding or supporting the nation's scientific and technological enterprise, and private foundations concerned about good governance, should support executive education programs intended to increase the technological literacy of government and industry leaders.
Executive education programs could include courses, lasting from several days to several weeks, designed for leaders and decision makers (and key staff) in Congress, state and local governments, and industry. The courses might use case studies to deal with current and anticipated technological problems and choices. These courses could be offered in many locations throughout the country, at major research universities, community colleges, law schools, business schools, schools of management, colleges of engineering, and other institutions. The courses would be taught by experts in technology, science, history of science and technology, and technological literacy.
The engineering community, which is directly involved in the creation of technology, is uniquely equipped to promote technological literacy. An engineering-led effort to increase technological literacy could have significant, long-term pay-offs, not only for decision makers in government but also for the public at large.
RECOMMENDATION 9
U.S. engineering societies should underwrite the costs of establishing government- and media-fellow programs with the goal of creating a cadre of policy experts and journalists with a background in engineering.
These programs could be small to begin with, but should be expanded over time to include a larger number of fellows from the ranks of master's, doctoral, and postdoctoral level engineers. Government fellowship programs could include workshops and internships in Congress and statehouses around the country. Because few national or state legislators are engineers, a technologically savvy staff could be very helpful. Graduates of the program might become permanent government employees or might return to engineering practice or education but would continue to serve as consultants to state and local legislators on technological issues.
The training for media fellows should include workshops, followed by internships at cooperating newspapers, magazines, or television or radio stations. Graduates of the program might become professional journalists or might return to engineering, but would continue to serve as consultants to the media. Better media coverage of technological issues would help inform citizens, who would then be better equipped to make decisions in their own lives.
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