New Communication Strategies Will Guide Future of Nanotechnology

1
New Communication Strategies Will Guide Future of
Nanotechnology
November 17, 2006
2
Introductory Remarks

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Overview

• Frame the Discussion
• Why Communication is Important
• How Nano is Changing Communication Strategies
• Case Studies
• Anticipating and Affecting the Future/Societal
  Impact on Nano
• QA

4
PR/Strategic Communications Defined

• "Public relations helps an organization and its
  publics adapt mutually to each other."
• Characteristics
• the need for research prior to initiating
  actions, careful planning and thorough evaluation
  or measurement of results.
• a continuing, systematic process instead of a
  one-time or single activity.
• multiple audiences or publics.
• its role as an essential function of management.
• public participation, mediation, conciliation,
  arbitration and accommodation as important tools.
  
• the need, in most instances, for long-term
  commitment.

Source Public Relations Society of America
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Nanotechnology Whats at Stake?

• Benefits
• Healthcare advances
• Consumer product advances
• Jobs/Competitiveness
• Environmental applications
• Many other . . . .

• Risks
• Environment Health Safety issues
• Balance of Power/Economies
• Unintended consequences
• Other . . . .

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Nanotechnology Whats at Stake?

Heavy Engineering
Mass Production/ Consumption
Textiles
Steam
Impact on Other Technologies and Society
Total Quality
1800
1900
2000
Source Lux Research
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Nanotechnology Whats at Stake?


2005 to 2009 Commercial breakthroughs open
markets
2010 to 2014 Nanotechnology becomes commonplace

Source October 2004 Lux Research Report Sizing
Nanotechnologys Value Chain
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Future of Nanotechnology

• The broader public will have a voice
• It will take time for science to answer key
  questions
• The public debate is happening now
• Traditional communication approaches are not
  adequate in this environment

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Communication is Key
d

Mentions of nanotechnology in the popular press
Media coverage of nanotechnology both positive
and negative is increasingly exponentially
Source 2004 Lux Research Reference Study The
Nanotech Report 2004.
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Communication is Key

• The spectre of possible harm whether real or
  imagined is threatening to slow the development
  of nanotechnology unless sound, independent and
  authoritative information is developed on what
  the risks are, and how to avoid them. Lux
  Research 2006.
• "If federal officials, business leaders and
  others do not devise a plan to fill the gaps in
  their knowledge of nanotech safety, the
  September 25, 2006, National Research Council
  report warns, the field's great promise could
  evaporate in a cloud of public mistrust Rick
  Weiss, The Washington Post, Sept. 26, 2006.
• Fears over the possible dangers of some
  nanotechnologies may be exaggerated, but they are
  not necessarily unfounded. Nature, Nov. 15, 2006

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Communication is KeyThe Publics Knowledge

• 42 - of public have no knowledge of nanotech
• 35 - believe risks of nanotechnology outweigh
  benefits
• 15 - believe benefits of nanotechnology outweigh
  risks
• Source Aug. 2006 Poll - Woodrow Wilson Intl
  Center for Scholars

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Communication is Key

• Communicating research on nanotechnology risks
  and benefits outside the scientific community is
  challenging, but is essential for a risk dialogue
  based on sound science. This means developing
  communication activities that enable technical
  information to be summarized, critiqued and
  ultimately synthesized for various interested
  parties, including decision-makers and
  consumers.
• "If the public loses confidence in the commitment
  -- of governments, business and the science
  community -- to conduct sound and systematic
  research into possible risks, then the enormous
  potential of nanotechnology will be squandered.
  We cannot let that happen . . . "

Andrew Maynard, Woodrow Wilson Institute Project
for Emerging Nanotechnologies co-authors from
the Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM) and
the SnIRC initiative (Safety of nanoparticles
Interdisciplinary Research Center) in Nature,
Nov. 16, 2006.
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Communication ChallengesNano is Unique

• Cross-disciplinary
• Different groups speak different languages
• Nano is the great convener

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Communication ChallengesNano is Disruptive

• Key Perceptual Challenges
• Evokes fear of the unknown
• Challenges long-held beliefs
• Changes the normal way we do things
• Creates unrealistic expectations
• Requires new risk/benefit equations
• Doesnt conform with current policy or standards
• Alters economic and business models

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Nanotechnology Why Perception Matters

• We project that of 8 trillion in cumulative
  manufacturing output incorporating nanotechnology
  through 2014, 38 is exposed to perceptual risk
  more than five times the proportion exposed to
  real risk when nano-enabled products are used.
• A Prudent Approach to Nanotech Environmental,
  Health, and Safety Risks Lux Research, Inc.May
  2005

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Drivers of Risk Perception
Primary Risk Perception Factors

Perceptions about risks are Value judgments, not
technical ones
Dr. Vincent Covello, Center for Risk
Communication
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The Nanotechnology Environment

• Uncertainties
• Paradoxes
• Unintended consequences

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New CommunicationsCase Studies
Historical context - Asbestos

• Communication secrecy
• Lawsuit
• Threadgill v. Armstrong World Industries
• The Sumner Simpson documents
• Stored away in a safe in 1930s
• Evidence of knowledge of link to cancer

• Result
• Supreme Court Justice Souter has called it the
  elephantine mass
• 40 years and getting exponentially stronger
• 1982 300 defendants
• Today over 8,400 defendants
• 60,000 jobs lost
• 210 billion in cost

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New CommunicationsCase Studies
New CommunicationsCase Studies

NCI Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer

• Communication Challenge
• Goal Eliminating death and suffering due to
  cancer.
• Build communication network for worlds largest
  biomedical nanotech initiative.
• Link cancer research community
• Coordinate strategic planning across sectors to
  expedite promising results
• Integrate research infrastructures and catalyze
  cross-disciplinary collaborations

• Methodology
• Web portal
• Cancer Nanotechnology Plan
• Areas of Focus (diagnostics and therapeutics)
• Centers of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence
• Cross-stakeholder engagement
• Federal Government (FDA, NIST, etc.)
• Private Sector (large and small)
• Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory

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NCI Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer

• Approach
• Launched with a scientific roundtable and media
  briefing highlighting academic/government thought
  leaders.
• Centerpiece of the program is a new, branded
  website that provides a knowledge community for
  scientists, notice of funding opportunities, and
  engages the public with information and insights
  on scientific advances. A variety of multimedia
  approaches were used, including
• Computer animations of nanomaterials
• Webcasts on new scientific directions
• Print and video materials for the media
• Ongoing website features, including weekly
  science stories, an annotated scientific
  bibliography, and upcoming events calendar
• Results
• Continuous favorable media coverage.Increased
  dialogue and partnerships emerging across
  engineering, biology and oncology.
• Thousands of researchers have visited the website
  to stay apprised of advances in nanotech.

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New CommunicationsCase Studies
New CommunicationsCase Studies
New CommunicationsCase Studies

Environmental Defense DuPont

• Communication Challenges
• Goal framework for the responsible
  development, production, use and disposal of
  nano-scale materials.
• Overcoming traditional differences
• Devising mutually agreeable methods for
  accomplishing goal and for communicating results
  to the public

• Methodology
• Chad Holliday, DuPont Chairman and CEO, and
  Environmental Defense President Fred Krupp in the
  June 14, 2005 edition of the Wall Street Journal
  An early and open examination of the potential
  risks of a new product or technology is not just
  good common sense -- its good business
  strategy.
• Roadshow
• Transparency

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New CommunicationsCase Studies
New CommunicationsCase Studies
New CommunicationsCase Studies
New CommunicationsCase Studies

U.S. Patent Trademark Office

• Communication Challenges
• Overcoming increasingly complex
  cross-disciplinary patent applications common in
  the nanotech sector
• Keeping up to speed with rapidly changing science
• Maintaining publics confidence

• Methodology
• New Nanotechnology Cross-Reference Digest Class
  977/dig.1
• Facilitates searching of prior art for nanotech
  patents in 253 separate classes
• Re-training staff
• Establishment of core nanotech examiner expertise
• Informing the public how USPTO is addressing
  these challenges

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New CommunicationsCase Studies
New CommunicationsCase Studies
New CommunicationsCase Studies
New CommunicationsCase Studies
New CommunicationsCase Studies

Nano Startup, Inc.

• Communication Challenges
• Communicating complex science and innovation to
  investors, media and other audiences
• Targeted markets include traditionally distinct
  verticals
• Healthcare
• Cosmetics
• Consumers products
• Energy
• Targeting multiple global markets at once

• Methodology
• Strategic planning/prioritizing
• Limited resources
• Choosing the right fit with the right PR agency
• Consistent messaging
• Other methods/techniques below

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New CommunicationsCase Studies
New CommunicationsCase Studies
New CommunicationsCase Studies
New CommunicationsCase Studies
New CommunicationsCase Studies
New CommunicationsCase Studies

Academia

• Communication Challenges
• Multiple departments focused on different (or
  same) aspects of nanotechnology
• Grant/funding opportunities

• Methodology
• ?
• ?
• ?

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How do we anticipate and shape the future?

• "Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's
  about the future." -- Nils Bohr, Nobel laureate
  in Physics
• "A good forecaster is not smarter than everyone
  else, he merely has his ignorance better
  organized. " -- Anonymous

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How do we anticipate and shape the future?

• Analyze, prepare, engage proactively, and adapt
• Learn from the past and present
• Employ cross-disciplinary analysis
• Adopt creative and proactive approaches, rather
  than clinging to outdated methods
• Contingency and scenario planning

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Methodologies Issues

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Methodologies Measuring Impact

• Develop quantitative and qualitative criteria
  that measure impact on business objectives,
  including
• Media Analysis
• Brand positioning and message delivery
• Competitive positioning
• Quality of media
• Audience Engagement
• Partner engagement
• Event attendance
• Email push responses
• Web site visits/calls
• Perception Audit
• Quantitative and qualitative research on audience
  mindset

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Techniques to shape the future in nanotech
through communications

• Starts with education training to all audiences
• Integration of scientific and risk/benefit
  information into easily digestible educational
  modules, accessible to the public
• Truthful messaging addressing risks and benefits
  of nanotechnology appropriate weight give to
  events
• Dialogue with policy makers and regulators
• Mobilize credible sources to advocate for
  position
• Develop credibility through transparency
• Be diligent in identifying and responding to
  crises

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Pathways to shaping future of nanotech

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How can society influence nanotechnology through
communications?

• Challenges
• Nanotech is complex
• Opportunities
• Political process
• Increased forums for public participation
• IT age
• Innovative approaches (i.e. CNS Real Time
  Technology Assessment)

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THANK YOU - QA

• Contact
• Griffith A. Kundahl
• Vice President
• Feinstein Kean Healthcare
• An Ogilvy PR Worldwide Company
• Direct 720.219.3896
• Griffith.Kundahl_at_ogilvypr.com