Science & Societal interaction 

• 14 hrs lecture
• 1 hrs personal study counseling
• 69 hrs individual study period

1. develops knowledge and understanding in the field of public participation, regarding natural-scientific topics in societal processes.
   
2. applies this knowledge by developing a participation-plan. Attention is paid to different levels of participation and methods and tools of participation. Also, a distinction of the different stakeholders is made, and ways to reach them are explored.
   
3. is introduced in and applies the methods and tools for the design of an objective and research questions of a research plan.
   
4. is able to formulate an advice by means of a group discussion and to present and argue this advice in front of experts in the field of participation.
   

Science communication is usually not a linear process, but comes into being through interaction. In this course is dealt with ways to involve citizens and other stakeholders in an interactive process when scientific topics are on the agenda. Questions as why would you involve stakeholders and why not, who would you involve and on which level are under discussion. With regard to the question who to involve it is important to get a grip on ‘the public’; who will and can be involved? And what are the benefits for people to participate in such a process? Finally, we learn about the different methods and tools that can be used in the planning of a participation project, such as debates and focus groups.

In this course the students are introduced in the basic principles of stakeholder participation, students design a participation plan themselves and debate with experts on the field of participation on an actual case.

An assignment.

Literature will be made available on Blackboard

Thursday

Foreign students should contact the teacher 6 weeks in advance.