Public Engagement with Biotechnology: A Scoping Review

The responsible research and innovation (RRI) framework promotes the alignment of science with the needs, expectations and values of society. This is particularly relevant for research and innovation in technologies that have proven controversial, such as biotechnology in Europe.

We conducted a scoping review of research on public engagement with biotechnology to inform our work with PhotoBoost, a Horizon 2020 project that aims to improve the photosynthetic efficiency of key crop plants potatoes and rice through trans- and cis-genic breeding techniques.

We screened 2357 citations related to public engagement and biotechnology, retaining 37 studies and extracting data against a set of a priori and emergent indicators, as well as collecting methodological and demographic data; we then conducted a qualitative synthesis to explore the key themes arising from the existing literature.

Our key findings relate to the preponderance of WEIRD (white, educated, industrialised, rich and democratic) country research, a wide-range of engagement activities but reliance on focus groups and a number of key concerns for the public around the use of biotechnology, such as transparent weighing of risks, benefits and governance, mechanisms to halt or reverse interventions in the environment or individuals, a strong emphasis on equity and a desire to avoid monopolisation.

These findings will be of particular interest to research projects involving biotechnology, as they provide an initial, consolidated indication of the types of issues the public will want to see addressed when biotechnology of various kinds is deployed in real-world settings.