Title: SBE-UKRI: Future Organisms: Synthetic Genomics and Responsible Research and Innovation in the UK, the USA and Japan
Funder: Economic and Social Research Council

Abstract: Synthetic genomics is an emerging international research field that promises to bring new types of organism into the world, potentially challenging fundamental relationships between humans and other species. We plan a social scientific investigation of synthetic genomics across three countries that are investing significantly in the field: the UK, the USA and Japan. Our main objectives are to: 1. Advance the theory and practice of responsible research and innovation through a study of synthetic genomics. Responsible research and innovation (RRI) has recently risen to prominence as a means of governing emerging scientific fields. When RRI is implemented, however, social scientists are often enrolled at the level of the individual research project, limiting their capacity to participate in the diversity of spaces in which science is governed. We therefore aim to develop an approach to RRI in synthetic genomics that engages with the field more broadly, allowing us to move across sites and scales, and supporting autonomous social scientific inquiry as well as productive collaborations between the natural and social sciences. 2. Explore the narratives and expectations driving national investments into synthetic genomics. Policy and funding are crucial in setting the trajectories of academic research, as are narratives of economic growth, national competitiveness and scientific excellence. But these are often overlooked in social scientific studies of discrete scientific projects. To address this gap, we will analyse these narratives in synthetic genomics across our three national contexts. 3. Investigate the significance of the organism being engineered in synthetic genomics research projects. Our preliminary investigations suggest that because it operates at the genome scale, the organism being engineered is foregrounded in synthetic genomics. We will investigate how the organism features in laboratory practices, and how human responsibilities to other creatures are understood in synthetic genomics. This will allow us to bring together work in RRI and multispecies studies; two complementary but largely independent bodies of literature. 4. Create spaces that allow commitments in synthetic genomics to be reflected upon, debated and, where necessary, challenged. To enable our work to inform the development of synthetic genomics, we plan a series of experimental workshops to 'open up' the field by creating spaces in which existing commitments can be aired and explored. Each will assemble diverse voices (policy makers, scientists, artists, designers and other stakeholders) to consider and debate the directions of synthetic genomics and the values on which it is based. 5. Build international capacity for social scientific engagement with synthetic genomics and other emerging fields. Social scientists who are embedded in scientific research projects are often isolated, making cross-project learning difficult, particularly across countries. Conducting a substantial and sustained piece of research together will allow us to strengthen links between social scientists across our three countries. We intend to broaden our reach further in our final workshop, which will invite a larger group of social scientists to discuss positionality, autonomy and modes of collaboration and intervention in synthetic genomics. We will develop web resources and joint publications from this event, to seed an international network of social scientists attached to emerging scientific fields and build a foundation for future work.

Lay abstract: The aim of this project is two-fold: to carry out a social scientific investigation into synthetic genomics and to develop new approaches to responsible research and innovation through this investigation. Synthetic genomics is an emerging scientific field that makes it possible for scientists to design and build larger stretches of DNA than ever before, at the scale of chromosomes and even whole genomes. It could potentially bring new types of organism into the world. Synthetic genomics is attracting funding and building momentum internationally. However, decisions about the direction of the field are being made by small groups of scientists and engineers. Although some are aware that these decisions deserve broader reflection and scrutiny, the field lacks mechanisms to ensure it incorporates diverse perspectives. We aim to address this problem by conducting the first social scientific analysis of synthetic genomics explicitly designed to open up discussion and debate about the field. Responsible research and innovation (RRI) is an approach to governing new scientific and technological fields that has gained traction in recent years. However, RRI is currently not well equipped to engage with large-scale, international, collaborative scientific work such as that undertaken in synthetic genomics. When RRI is implemented it often involves an individual social scientist being tasked to 'deliver' RRI for a single scientific research project, limiting the extent to which they can engage with broader governance structures. In contrast, independent social scientific research conducted on emerging science and technology often remains detached from its object of study, offering little opportunity to shape its development. By developing an approach to synthetic genomics that is engaged but autonomous, our project will extend and enrich RRI by offering an alternative model for social scientific engagement with emerging scientific fields. Our cross-national investigation of synthetic genomics will encompass the United Kingdom, the United States and Japan - three countries that are investing heavily in the field. We will analyse scientific literature and policy documents, and - taking advantage of our geographic distribution - conduct a multi-sited ethnography of the major sites in which synthetic genomics is being developed and interview key actors in our three countries. Our research is organised into three workstreams: Countries, Creatures and Capacities. The Countries workstream examines national and international policy and funding strategies for synthetic genomics and the narratives and expectations embedded within them. The Creatures workstream explores the ways in which synthetic genomics alters human relationships with other organisms by positioning humans as designers of other species. The Capacities workstream explores the role of social scientists within the field. We will build on our existing connections with scientists, engineers, policy makers, artists, designers, and other stakeholders to 'open-up' debate about the trajectories and futures of the field by convening a series of experimental workshops. Our final workshop will bring together social scientists from our three countries working in synthetic genomics and related fields to share our experiences, explore new approaches to RRI, and build connections for future work.

Research activity codes: 8.3 POLICY, ETHICS AND RESEARCH GOVERNANCE
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE