Assessing models of outreach in ELSI projects: Final Report to the DOE's ELSI program

Abstract

This report examined the presence of four models of science communication in outreach projects funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's Ethical, Legal, and Societal Implications (ELSI) program. The four models were: deficit model, contextual model, lay knowledge model, and public engagement model. Although theoretical literature in science communication has recently been highly critical of the deficit model, we found that most projects -- including those that labeled themselves as public engagement -- contained a substantial amount of deficit model communicatio