The Public Acceptance of Controversial Technologies (PACT) Model: Dialogs and Decision Making. A. K. Wolfe and D. J. Bjornstad, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN; and M. Russell, University of Tennessee, Joint Institute for Energy and Environment, Knoxville, TN
Public Acceptance of Controversial Technologies (PACT) is a generic model of constituency group dialogs on the social acceptability of potentially contentious technologies. PACT was developed specifically for genetically engineered microorganisms (GEMs) as a remediation strategy, but it is applicable to diverse remediation technologies. Past experience repeatedly has demonstrated the ineffectiveness of stakeholder dialogs that operate on the assumptions (a) that members of the public will accept technologies due to their technical superiority, cost-effectiveness, or ability to reduce risks, (b) that education ("if people only understood") leads naturally to acceptance, or (c) both. In contrast, PACT makes no such assumptions. Rather, PACT is structured along three dimensions. The first dimension, the decision-rule continuum, describes the dynamics of multi-constituency group dialogs that push groups toward either non-negotiable or negotiable positions. The second dimension consists of constituency groups’ values, motivations, and strategies, within the general context of bioremediation. The third dimension encompasses specific attributes of bioremediation strategies relative to other remediation technologies, within the physical and cultural context of the communities in which cleanup is taking place. This paper describes PACT and how its application can encourage "productive" dialogs among stakeholder groups, dialogs that lead to issue resolution.
Work supported by the Department of Energy’s Office of Biological and Environmental Research.
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