Development of the protocol for the evaluation of social and economic aspects of the use of synthetic biology and genome editing tecniques

Nove tehnike sintezne biologije in urejanja genoma so ena izmed najbolj obetavnih razvojnih področij naravoslovja v tem trenutku. Vsak razvoj novih tehnik se odvija v določenem družbenem kontekstu, ki lahko vpliva na odnos javnosti in s tem (ne)sprejemanje inovacij v družbi. V magistrski nalogi smo pripravili nabor družbeno-ekonomskih dejavnikov, ki vplivajo na odnos javnosti do uporabe novih tehnik sintezne biologije in urejanja genoma. Razporejen je v šest vsebinskih sklopov (ekonomski vplivi, blaginjski vplivi, regulatorni in politični okviri, širši družbeni vidiki, čezmejni vplivi in okoljska tveganja). V nadaljevanju smo razvili generični protokol vrednotenja teh dejavnikov in ga testirali na primeru 37 aplikacij, razvitih s tehnikami sodobne biotehnologije in sintezne biologije in združenih v 7 skupin glede na področje rabe. Vrednotenje je potekalo z metodo pridobivanja skupinskih kompromisnih ocen v Delphi dvokrožnem participativnem procesu. V vrednotenju je sodelovalo 14 strokovnjakov (poznavalcev tehnik, področne zakonodaje, inovacijskih in trgovinskih politik). Med rezultati izpostavljamo, da lahko najbolj pozitivne učinke uporabe novih aplikacij pričakujemo predvsem na področju ekonomskih vplivov, medtem ko so najbolj negativne posledice uporabe pričakovane za vsebinski sklop regulatornih in političnih okvirov. Velik vpliv bodo prinesli tudi širši družbeni vidiki, vendar so bili strokovnjaki do tega sklopa dejavnikov precej nevtralno opredeljeni, za razliko od poudarkov iz literature. V razpravi utemeljujemo pomen učinkovitega naslavljanja družbeno-ekonomskih vprašanj v procesu razvoja aplikacij sintezne biologije in urejanja genoma.w techniques of synthetic biology and genome editing are one of the most promising research areas in life sciences. Yet, every scientific developement is happening in a social context. In this master thesis, we prepared a set of socio-economic factors which are influencing the public acceptance of new techniques of synthetic biology and genome editing. We divided the socio-economic aspects in six context sections (economic influence, welfare influence, regulatory and political framework, wider social aspects, cross-border impacts and environmental risks). Further, we developed a generic protocol for evaluating these aspects and tested it on a case-by-case basis of 37 applications, developed with the techniques of synthetic biology and genome editing and grouped them into 7 groups according to the field of use. Evaluation was carried out the using method of obtaining group compromise estimates with the Delphi two-cycle participatory process. The evaluation involved 14 experts (technology, regulatory affairs, innovation and trade policies experts). Among the results we point out that the most positive effects of the use of new applications can be expected in the field of economic impacts, while the most negative effects of the use are expected for a content section of regulatory and policy frameworks. There will also be a great influence on social aspects, yet the experts were rather neutral to this context section, unlike the literature emphasis. In the discussion, we justify the importance of effectively addressing socio-economic issues in the process of developing applications in the field of synthetic biology and genome editing