In 2020 the in-class dates are May 1, 8, 15; June 5, 12, 19
“Science and technology (S&T) affect—and insights rooted in understanding of S&T therefore are germane to formulating policy about—practically every issue on the agenda of governments: the economy, public health, education, energy, agriculture, environment, defence, diplomacy, and more" (Professor John Holdren, former Assistant to President Obama for Science & Technology and Director, White House Office of Science & Technology Policy). Australia is no less in need of understanding the interactions of science and technology with policy. This understanding includes the evidence S&T can provide to underpin policy, and the areas where science and technology could influence the directions of Australia in the absence of effective policy.
This course provides a comprehensive approach to exploring the interactions between science, technology and public policy across a suite of policy areas. It is built on a novel teaching collaboration between two ANU Colleges (Asia and the Pacific; and Science), bringing together expertise from the Crawford School of Public Policy and the Australian National Centre for Public Awareness of Science (CPAS).
It will be interactive, and every session will use policy experts along with academic staff to ensure relevance and depth in the analyses. The course will be flexible, and arranged to maximise access by students who may be either full or part-time. It will consist of two 6-unit components; the first will be a prerequisite for the second. The first 6 units will be split between sessions exploring theoretical and practical underpinnings of how science, technology and public policy are undertaken and case studies exploring how these underpinnings play out, and might need to be revised, in real-world public policy situations. The second 6 units will consist entirely of case studies of increasing complexity as students hone their skills in extracting lessons and developing deeper understanding from examples presented by experienced academics and practitioners of public policy.
Students will be allowed to take its first 6 units or the full 12 units as contributions towards a postgraduate qualification, the 12 unit option contributing to a Science, Technology and Public Policy specialization.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- Understand major themes in studies of the relationship between scientific/technical evidence and other inputs into policy-making
- Develop robust ways of assessing diverse sources and forms of evidence for policy analysis and policy-making
- Understand key challenges in governing scientific and technological research and innovation, and the salient frameworks put forward for coping with these issues
- Critically reflect on lessons from a series of case studies at the interface of science, technology and public policy
- Recognise demands for transparency in STPP and develop better ways of engaging at the interface of science, technology, the public and other stakeholders
Indicative Assessment
- Mixture of short assignments modelled on policy briefings for ministers and longer assignments synthesising theory and practice and drawing lessons from case studies. (null) [LO null]
In response to COVID-19: Please note that Semester 2 Class Summary information (available under the classes tab) is as up to date as possible. Changes to Class Summaries not captured by this publication will be available to enrolled students via Wattle.
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
Combination of class attendance and private studies equating to 130 hours.
Inherent Requirements
Not applicable
Requisite and Incompatibility
You will need to contact the Centre for the Public Awareness of Science or Crawford School of Public Policy to request a permission code to enrol in this course.
Prescribed Texts
None specified
Preliminary Reading
STPP Indicative Reading list
Articles and reports on overarching themes
Arimoto, T. & Sato, T. (2012) ‘Rebuilding Public Trust in Science for Policy-Making’ Science Vol 337:1176-7
Bray, H. J., & Ankeny, R. A. (2017). Not just about “the science”: science education and attitudes to genetically modified foods among women in Australia. New Genetics and Society, 36(1), 1-21.
Chubb, I., 2014. Australia needs a strategy. Science 345: 985
Flink, T. and Schreiterer, U., 2010. Science diplomacy at the intersection of S&T policies and foreign affairs: toward a typology of national approaches. Science and Public Policy, 37(9), pp.665-677.
Harris, P., 2013. The crowded chasm: Science in the Australian Government. In Doubleday, R. and Wilsdon, J.,(eds). Future directions for scientific advice in Whitehall. http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/47848/2/FDSAW_Wilsdon_Doubleday.pdf
Holdren, J.P., 2008. Science and technology for sustainable well-being. Science, 319(5862), pp.424-434.
Jasanoff, S., 2012. Science and public reason. New York: Routledge.
Pearce, W., M. Mahony and S. Raman. Science Advice for Global Challenges: learning from trade-offs in the IPCC. Environmental Science and Policy https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2017.11.017
Pettigrew, A.G., 2012. Australia's position in the world of science, technology & innovation. Office of the Chief Scientist https://www.chiefscientist.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/OPS2-OECD-for-web-FINAL.pdf
Leach, J., 2015. The Role of Science Communication in International Diplomacy. In L.S.Davis & R.G.Patman (eds) Science Diplomacy: New Day or False Dawn? World Scientific Publishing (pp. 155-169).
Stilgoe, J., Irwin, A., & Jones, K. (2006). The received wisdom. Opening up expert advice. London, Demos
Stirling, A. (2010) ‘Keep It Complex’ Nature 468, 1029-1031, 22 December 2010
Vilkins, S. and Grant, W.J., 2017. Types of evidence cited in Australian Government publications. Scientometrics, 113(3), pp.1681-1695.
Weinberg, A.M., 1972. Science and trans-science. Minerva, 10(2), pp.209-222.
Weingart, P. (1999) ‘Scientific expertise and political accountability: paradoxes of science in politics’, Science and Public Policy, 1999, Vol 26 No 3 pp 151-161
Wilsdon, J., Allen, K. and Paulavets, K., 2014. Science advice to governments: diverse systems, common challenges. Briefing paper for the Auckland conference, 28-29 August 2014. http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/53321/1/Science_Advice_to_Governments_Briefing_Paper_25-Aug-2014.pdf
Wilsdon, J., 2014. The past, present and future of the Chief Scientific Advisor. European Journal of Risk Regulation, 5(3), pp.293-299
Material to be curated from books
Arimoto, T., Sato, T., Matsuo, K. & H. Yoshikawa. 2016. Scientific Advice: Science, Technology, and Policy Making in the Twenty-First Century, University of Tokyo Press
Berkman, P.A., Lang, M.A., Walton, D.W. and Young, O.R., 2011. Science diplomacy: Antarctica, Science and the Governance of International Spaces. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution
Bijker, W.E., Bal, R. & Hendriks, R. (2009) The Paradox of Scientific Authority: the Role of Scientific Advice in Democracies, Boston: MIT Press
Cartwright, N. & Hardie, J. (2012) Evidence-based Policy: A Practical Guide to Doing it Better, Oxford: OUP
Douglas, H. 2009. Science, Policy and the Value-Free Ideal. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press
Ezrahi, Y. (1990) The Descent of Icarus: Science and the Transformation of Contemporary Democracy, Harvard University Press
Petersen. A.C. 2014. The Ethos of scientific advice: a pragmatist approach to uncertainty and ignorance in science and public policy. In H. de Regt and C. Kwa, eds., Building Bridges: Connecting Science, Technology and Philosophy – Essays presented to Hans Radder, Amsterdam: VU University Press, pp. 53–62
Case studies
Reading materials will be curated to reflect commentary/perspective pieces or brief reports from science and science policy studies in Nature, Science and other appropriate journals.
For example, on the case of CRISPR, we might select from:
Barrangou, R., Fremaux, C., Deveau, H., Richards, M., Boyaval, P., Moineau, S., Romero, D.A. and Horvath, P., 2007. CRISPR provides acquired resistance against viruses in prokaryotes. Science, 315(5819), pp.1709-1712.
Bosley, K.S., Botchan, M., Bredenoord, A.L., Carroll, D., Charo, R.A., Charpentier, E., Cohen, R., Corn, J., Doudna, J., Feng, G. and Greely, H.T., 2015. CRISPR germline engineering—the community speaks. Nature biotechnology, 33(5), p.478.
Hurlbut, J.B., Jasanoff, S., Saha, K., Ahmed, A., Appiah, A., Bartholet, E., Baylis, F., Bennett, G., Church, G., Cohen, I.G. and Daley, G., 2018. Building capacity for a global genome editing observatory: conceptual challenges. Trends in biotechnology https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tibtech.2018.04.009
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 1
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees. Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2020 | $4050 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2020 | $5760 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
Autumn Session
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part 1 | ||||||
| 5619 | 25 Apr 2020 | 01 May 2020 | 08 May 2020 | 19 Jun 2020 | In Person | N/A |
