"It is often said that the sciences should be brought into democracy (EC 2000), but conceptual frameworks for making sense of that aspiration are surprisingly underdeveloped. There is a now a wealth of middle-range theoretical and empirical research on new democratic institutional innovations addressing themes such as genetic modification, biosecurity, reproductive technologies and genetic testing, but there has been little synthesis and comparative analysis of these contributions in terms of democratic theory. This project will fulfil the need for a richer theoretical account of democratic theory in the context of scientific governance, drawing on sociology of knowledge and political theory. Such interdisciplinary conceptual work is important because the prosperity and competitiveness of the EU depends not only on technological developments and commercial innovation, but also on the cultivation of stable, reflective and responsible governmental practices and public spheres. Project Aims: • Theoretical: To develop an interdisciplinary framework that clarifies the philosophical commitments behind studies of what Mark Warren calls ‘governance-driven democratization’. • Applied: This project will begin from and relate back to the wide range of policy innovations associated with ‘democratization’ of scientific governance in both the EU and North America. • Organisational: The project will develop mechanisms to transfer the knowledge and research networks acquired in the overseas phase to EU researchers across disciplines and sectors. Professor Mark Warren leads a global center of excellence in democracy studies at the University of British Columbia. I am uniquely placed to benefit from this fellowship in terms of skills and career development, to bring this project to successful and productive conclusion, and to benefit the EU through a clear plan for the dissemination of the knowledge and networks acquired during the projec"