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iGEM 2014 Policy and Practices New Track

We are excited to announce a track devoted to Policy and Practices in iGEM 2014. Human Practices have been a part of iGEM for many years as a core element of iGEM activities within each team. This year, we have created a track for teams that wish to work exclusively in the policy and practices area of synthetic biology.

The iGEM Policy & Practices track aims to stimulate innovative ways of thinking about the policy, economic, social, legal, and philosophical landscape of synthetic biology. Teams participating in this track are developing skills and tools that will help to prepare synthetic biologists for the world they’re working in, and help the world decide how it might best make use of synthetic biology.

Requirements for Policy and Practices teams will differ from other tracks (e.g. they will not be required to contribute parts to the Registry). However, there will be additional performance requirements for a Policy & Practices team.

Introduction:

The iGEM competition calls on students to build interdisciplinary teams of biologists, chemists, physicists, engineers, and computer scientists to ask new questions about what synthetic biology can do. Over the past ten years, thousands of students from countries around the world have started to imagine a future that uses biology as a design medium, and that relies on open-source, standardized parts to build with biology. The most successful teams often work hard to imagine their projects in a social context, and to better understand issues that might influence the design and use of their technologies. Increasingly, they also work with students and advisors from the humanities and social sciences to explore topics concerning ethical, legal, social, economic, biosafety or biosecurity issues related to their work. Consideration of these “Human Practices” is crucial for building safe and sustainable projects that serve the public interest.

In previous years, iGEM teams that have made significant contributions to integrating broader social considerations into the design of their synthetic biology devices, have been awarded with the Special Prize for Best Human Practices Advance. This year we are introducing a dedicated ‘Policy & Practices’ track for teams looking to contribute detailed work grounded in the humanities and social sciences. The new name of ‘Policy & Practices’ is intended to reflect a broadened and matured vision for activities in this track - and across iGEM as a whole - that has evolved from the strong track record of Human Practices at iGEM.

What we're looking for:

The details of judging rules and requirements for both the cross-track Policy & Practices Prize and the Policy & Practices Track will be updated over the next month. In general, we are looking for:

• Projects that engage with social, cultural, ethical, philosophical, environmental, political, legal and/or economic dimensions of synthetic biology.
• Projects that are grounded in a clear understanding of the structure and practice of synthetic biology, and the broader social and political context in which this technology is being developed.
• Thoughtful and critical investigation using approaches from the social sciences and humanities.
• Interdisciplinary engagement and/or collaboration with engineers, scientists, artists, designers, and social scientists.
• Active engagement with broader communities and stakeholders to explore a variety of perspectives and foster constructive debate and discussion.

What we don't want:

• Projects that are focused on marketing/promoting a particular synthetic biology application, without a broader set of questions informing and driving the work.

A dossier of exemplary projects from previous iGEM competitions is currently in development.

Requirements:

Policy and Practices teams must meet the general iGEM 2014 requirements. In addition, P&P teams must meet the following track specific requirements:

• Developing your iGEM Policy & Practices Team:
  • Faculty Advisors: Each team must work with at least two senior mentors. One of the senior mentors must be a faculty member. One mentor should be based in the humanities or social sciences (for example, law, economics, sociology, public policy), and one from any other discipline including, but not limited to, science, engineering, social sciences, medicine, and law. Additional faculty members may also be listed as faculty advisors. One faculty member must be designated as the primary faculty advisor. She or he is ultimately responsible for the official registration of the team, the team roster, and payment of team fees.
  • Advisors: In addition to the required roles above, teams are encouraged to recruit non-faculty advisors. These can include postgraduate students and postdoctoral researchers, as well as current or former policymakers, government officials, legal advisors, entrepreneurs, or members of non-governmental organizations, regulatory agencies or funding bodies.
  • Questions? This is an experimental track, so please contact us at policypractices@igem.org if you have any questions or concerns about participation and team requirements.
• Project Submissions:

  Team submissions are required to convey (1) the project inspiration, (2) clearly articulated question(s) the project proposes to address, (3) detailed method(s) used (and their assumptions), (4) discussion of the challenges encountered in pursuing this work, (5) an explanation of who the project findings should be of interest to and why, and (6) an explanation of how the approach(es) might be adapted and scaled for others to use.

  These questions should be addressed in the following ways, in addition to the standard wiki, poster and presentation requirements for all iGEM teams. [Please note that these requirements are subject to revision until medal criteria are announced]:

  • A 2-page executive summary (that can reference additional resources on your wiki)
  • A 3-minute video that is accessible to an interested lay audience
  • any other formats you think can help iGEM teams and the broader community understand and interact with your work. This could be anything from an educational handbook, a software tool, a report, or a policy brief. We encourage you to be creative and to think about platforms that can be broadly shared and adapted.
• Parts: Teams in the policy & practices track will not receive a copy of the 2014 distribution. They are not required to perform wet-lab work or to deposit new BioBricks in the Registry. Teams that do wish to receive a distribution copy of the 2014 distribution must request one from policypractices [at] igem [dot] org, and be affiliated with a university or community laboratory. Teams that do wish to use and submit a new part must adhere to safety and iGEM submission guidelines.

Exemplar Projects in iGEM

We're working on our a list of exemplar projects from previous years. Watch this space!

Medal Criteria

We're working on our medal criteria and will have it posted soon. Watch this space!

Policy and Practices Track Committee:

Committee Members:

We are developing a network of friendly experts in policy & practice topics. Friend of Policy & Practices help guide P&P at iGEM (e.g. as advisors and judges) and are willing to offer expert guidance to teams as they develop their projects.

Please contact the committee chairs at policypractices [at] igem [dot] org if you are interested in participating.