Summary of Meetings on Trust and Accountability

Abstract

The October 2010 CCST Council meeting focused on trust and accountability in science and technology. Two summary documents are now available, with overviews of the discussions from October 18 and 19, respectively.

The meeting on October 18 focused on the role CCST should take with regards to the erosion of public trust in science and ways to address both real and perceived lapses in scientific accountability. CCST was created as an independent, impartial organization by the Legislature to advise the state on policy matters relating to science and technology.

The meeting on the 19th focused on broader issues, including:

• Scoping the issues of trust and accountability,
• What modeling of complex systems – from climate change to engineering to public education pipelines – can and cannot tell us,
• The science of trust (as illustrated by a neuroscientist’s research on oxycotin), and
• From the cosmos to the legislative chamber – highlights from the experiences of CCST’s first cohort of science and technology fellows completing a year in various legislative offices in Sacramento.

The documents provide detailed summaries of presentations from both days, along with comments and questions from other meeting participants. A list of participants and a brief list of resources and background papers are provided in appendices.