Science policy as discourse : the governance of nanotechnology in the United Kingdom.

Abstract

Nanotechnology has emerged in the UK on the back of two key discourses that have driven the governance of the field: the knowledge-based economy and the risk debate. These two discourses have been articulated on pre-existing national structures, leading to the lack of a central national nanotechnology strategy. Instead, a range of intermediary actors, such as the Research Councils, have emerged as key actors here. Particularly the EPSRC has acted as ‘cultural translator’ through the field of nanotechnology, reinterpreting societal-challenge lead considerations into a defence for the autonomy of basic science. In this paper we suggest a national distinctiveness of nanotechnology governance in the UK, and explore the role of discourses and EPSRC in this characteristic development.