In July, the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) launched a consultation on science and society policy. It invited comments on its Vision for Science and Society – with its goals for public attitudes and targets for the scientific workforce: ‘A society that is excited by science, values its importance to our social and economic wellbeing, feels confident in its use, and supports a representative, well-qualified scientific workforce.’

The vision has already attracted a number of critical responses. The Academy of Social Sciences has pointed out that much relevant social science is left out of the strategy. Academics at University College London have questioned the value of lumping a wide range of policies under one vision: ‘tensions that exist between strands of the government’s science and society agenda need frank recognition and honest discussion.’

In addition to these responses, an international group of social scientists published an open letter to Lord Drayson expressing serious concern about the vision. We were part of the group who drafted the letter. What most troubled us was that a critically important area of policy seemed to be moving backwards.

Over the past decade much good work has been done by the UK government and scientists of all stripes to put into practice the hard-won lessons of the 1990s. The BSE crisis, disputes about GM foods, and controversies over the science of climate change have all played a part in shaping policy. It is increasingly recognised that transparent and diverse expert advice as well as more rigorous democratic participation are of central importance for science and technology policy. The vision seems to replace this detailed work of institutional innovation with vague aspirations about public attitudes.

Our letter calls attention to the important work that DIUS can do to support critical public engagement with particular sciences and technologies – rather than with ‘science’ as a whole. But as the vision is so focused on uncritical excitement rather than critical engagement we have called for DIUS to go back to the drawing board. In our view a vision for science and society must include a conception of how public values will be incorporated into the governance of science.

Dr Robert Doubleday is in the Department of Geography at the University of Cambridge

Dr Matthew Kearnes is in the Department of Geography at Durham University