• How Would You Defend the Planet From Asteroids?

    When NASA collaborated with social scientists to engage the public in two-way conversations about the agency’s Asteroid Initiative, the outcome surprised everyone.

    In a pioneering approach to public engagement, NASA and a group of social scientists brought citizens together to weigh in on how the taxpayer-funded agency might approach some technical decisions involving asteroids. How citizens came to engage with strategies for planetary defense—and the unexpected conclusions they reached—was the result of successfully navigating different institutional cultures, extensive preparation, scrambling to meet deadlines, and more than a little serendipity.

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  • Public Value Evidence for Public Value Outcomes

    Integrating Public Values into Federal Policymaking

    In a policy memo for the Day One Project, Michelle Govani, Nicholas Weller, and CSPO associate director Mahmud Farooque lay out a plan of action for the federal government to broaden institutional capacity to collect and integrate evidence on public values into policy and decision making.

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  • A Prehistory of Social Media

    The grassroots origins of the social internet

    Kevin Driscoll’s essay in Issues in Science & Technology tells the story of early online communities and reveals the social and technical origins of today’s social media. The history offers insights on how we might build healthier online communities that are more just, equitable, and inclusive.

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  • Protecting the Integrity of Government Science

    The need for a federal scientific integrity framework

    In her new essay for Issues in Science & Technology, Elizabeth Southerland builds a strong case for why enshrining scientific integrity policies into law is the best way to ensure that federal decision making is based on rigorous and independent research.

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  • “This One in China Felt Different”

    Reflecting on state of the COVID-19 pandemic and what society must do to prepare for future global crises.

    On New Year’s Eve, 2019, Jeremy Farrar became one of the first people in the world to learn of a new viral pneumonia that was sickening people in China. Issues recently spoke with Farrar to get his insights on the future of the pandemic, its roots in changes in how humans interact with nature, and the uniquely globalized challenges of COVID-19.

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  • The Ongoing Transformation

    Announcing a new podcast from Issues in Science & Technology!

    The Ongoing Transformation is a biweekly podcast featuring conversations about science, technology, policy, and society. We talk with interesting thinkers—leading researchers, artists, policymakers, social theorists, and other luminaries—about the ways new knowledge transforms our world. Listen and subscribe to The Ongoing Transformation wherever you get your podcasts.

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The Consortium for Science, Policy & Outcomes

Is an intellectual network aimed at enhancing the contribution of science and technology to society’s pursuit of equality, justice, freedom, and overall quality of life. CSPO creates knowledge and methods, cultivates public discourse, and fosters policies to help decision makers and institutions grapple with the immense power and importance of science and technology as society charts a course for the future.

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Recent Newsletter

Fall 2019

Geoengineering, driverless cars, and much more!

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Blog: As We Now Think

Photo by Caspar Camille Rubin

Fake News and Disinformation

Fake news and disinformation in the digital sphere have been trending topics for years, but what do we really know about the public’s relationship to these issues? In partnership with the French organization, Missions Publiques, the Consortium for Science, Policy, & Outcomes (CSPO) recently hosted virtual public deliberations regarding the future of the internet. Participants […]

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Everything You Know About Shark Conservation is Wrong

After watching the cinematic masterpiece Deep Blue Sea, a movie about genetically engineered sharks that go on a rampage, I spent nights terrified of traversing my room’s navy blue carpet in the dark to make it to the bathroom. Many years later, I’m proud to say that I did safely make it to the bathroom […]

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Books We’re Reading this Fall

Summer reading is wonderful: the perfect time to find a comfy beach chair, sip a cold iced tea, and settle in with a well-plotted novel that makes the hours skip by in pleasurable escapism…. Who are we kidding? It’s impossible to get comfortable on a sandy beach towel; you’re sweaty and sunburned and half tipsy […]

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CSPO Highlights