ABSTRACT
During the past two decades, enduring public concern over certain science and technology issues, and growing citizens’ demands for involvement in such issues, as well as multiplying examples of non-experts who actively contribute to shaping the agenda of research in fi elds like biomedicine have led to a rethinking of the very meaning of science and citizens’ interactions in several arenas 1 . In many countries and at the European level, funding schemes and policy documents have now changed their keywords from “public awareness of science” to “citizen engagement”, from “communication” to “dialogue”, and from “science and society” to “science in society”. Does the change of keywords actually refl ect a change in the practice and understanding of these interactions? Or it is – as some scholars have suggested – in many cases a reappearance of the traditional, “defi cit” approach in a new guise? Which theoretical model(s) can best help us interpret this changing scenario? What are the possible consequences for public engagement in biomedical research? This chapter focuses on trends and transformations of science/society interactions as the broader context for understanding civil society actors’ and patient organization’s role in the (bio)medical research processes.
