Involving stakeholders in policymaking: tensions emerging from a public dialogue with knowledge-based entrepreneurs

摘要

The aim of this article is to discuss the tensions that are created between Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) communities during the dialogue process. The main argument revolves around the idea that public participation in STI is a complex process where communities with different expectations, logics, language codes, and dynamics of power relations participate. As a result, diverse tensions emerge during the dialogue process. To deal with these tensions, it is necessary to identify them, and appropriate and contextualize the methods of public participation in a flexible way to have instruments that allow overcoming such tensions and reaching better results. This article draws on and expands current empirical efforts to discuss public participation methods. It is based on a case study of a public dialogue experience between knowledge-based entrepreneurs with policymakers to identify the most important challenges that they face and the implications for STI policy in Mexico.