A new video presents the results of a small study carried out by EBNet’s Environmental Biotechnology and Social Sciences WG (EBSS), led by Prof Adrian Ely of the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at the University of Sussex. The work aimed to explore the past, present and future of environmental biotechnology as a field, drawing on documentary evidence, bibliometric analysis and 12 interviews.
The project team included Dr Josie Coburn and Dr Duncan Moore at SPRU; Prof Jane Calvert, Dr Rob Smith and Dr Kyle Parker from Science Technology and Innovation Studies (STIS) at the University of Edinburgh; and Prof Ismael Ràfols, UNESCO Chair in Diversity and Inclusion in Global Science, Centre for Science and Technology Studies, Leiden University, Netherlands.
The video presentation is adapted from one given at the UK-AsSIT Reflexions conference in Edinburgh in June 2025. The UK Association for Studies in Innovation, Science and Technology (AsSIST-UK) is an association for scholars, including early career and doctoral researchers, working in the broad fields of science, technology and innovation studies. It supports transdisciplinary collaboration across the social sciences, humanities and sciences in the field of science, innovation and technology; and engagement with civil society, government and industry within the UK and globally.
In a sense EBNet is its working groups, so we don’t often thank them for what they do: but this was a particularly thought-provoking, insightful and challenging piece of work, which has stirred up lots of discussion and debate. The team also did a huge amount with the limited time and resources available, running several internal events and leading a very successful workshop in November 2024 in London which drew in contributors from many other organisations and disciplines. We are really glad this work was done, and very much hope the team members will be able to develop this fascinating area further in future.
The full report from the EBSS WG is available here, together with an Executive Summary. And watch this space for journal papers on the topic – currently in preparation and in review!