Communicative Aspects of the Public-Science Relationship Explored

Communication and the way this communication process is perceived by different publics is part of the public-science relationship. This article presents qualitative data with respect to biotechnology and genomics communication and identifies similarities and differences among publics in various roles. Focus group discussions were conducted with members of the general public, active consumers, patients, and genomics experts in the Netherlands. The analysis demonstrated that these publics prefer varied communication approaches that depend on their particular roles, with varying possibilities of participation. In all cases, transparency and openness as basic communication elements have to be fulfilled to gain trust from these publics.