'Democratic' approaches

Democratic approaches to risk communication have involved facilitating public inputs into regulatory and strategic decision-making processes. Many different types of public participation methodology have been identified in the literature (e.g. Fiorino, 1990; Renn, 1995). These range from those which elicit input in the form of opinions (e.g. public opinion surveys and focus groups) to those that elicit judgements and decisions from which actual policy might be derived, and which are essentially deliberative in nature (e.g. consensus conferences and citizens’ juries).

Space does not permit a substantive review of the different methodologies, and the interested reader is referred to Rowe and Frewer (2000), for a more detailed review of methodological approaches in this area. However, it is interesting to note that the practice of public participation has increased across all areas of policy development in recent years, although issues of ‘best practice’ are disputed. Rowe and Frewer (2000) have specified some theoretical criteria for benchmarking the effectiveness of public participation exercises, which aim to provide a framework for evaluating different approaches. Broadly speaking, evaluative criteria fall into one of two categories – those related to public acceptance of a procedure (that is, ‘acceptance criteria’), and those related to the effective construction and implementation of a procedure, which refer to the procedural issues associated with the participation exercise itself (‘process criteria’). These criteria, and the process of validation of these criteria, are described in greater detail elsewhere (Rowe and Frewer, 2000; Frewer, 2001).

However, the potential effectiveness of public consultation may be compromised by failure to evaluate not only the process but also the substantive impact of the processon policy.

Frewer and Salter (in press) have argued that the inclusion of recommendations for best practice regarding public consultation and public involvement must include the explicit assessment of both scientific advice and public consultation on policy development if public confidence in science and risk management is not to be further eroded. There may also be scope for the use of deliberative methods in the identification of specific products (for example, novel fruits and vegetables produced with the use of biotechnology) that are acceptable and indeed desired by consumers, and will be purchased when they reach the market place.