The Collaboration Conundrum: Special Interests and Scientific Research

Industry currently funds the majority of research and development in the United States. But historical scandals involving industry-funded research, together with empirical evidence of correlations in some areas of science between industry funding and research results that favor industry have undermined trust in industry-funded science. Given that so much research funding comes from industry, it would be unrealistic and wasteful to dismiss this research across the board as unreliable and unconcerned with the public good. What to do?

Government reports and scholarly publications extol the value of public participation in scientific research, and a number of funding agencies are now encouraging initiatives such as community-based participatory research (CBPR). Could the participation of citizen groups in industry-funded research also increase the relevance, reliability, and acceptability of industry research? The Collaboration Conundrum Conference brings together industry representatives and experts on important policy issues such as genetically modified organisms (GMOs), pollution and toxic chemicals, biomedical research, agricultural practices, and animal welfare to answer questions about how to bring the public and industry to do research for the public good.

Plenary Speaker

Nicholas Ashford is Professor of Technology and Policy and Director of Technology and Law Program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). 

Program

This conference will start around 9:00 AM Thursday and end around 5:00 PM Friday. A light breakfast, lunch, and refreshments are provided both days. Dinner is provided Thursday. Please follow this link for the full conference program: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1wI3A6kCgm0zCRdsdEmGfhJ9bziRHNNln