Governing genomics: New governance tools for new technologies?

This paper considers some of the 'new tools of governance' and how they might apply to the life science industries. Through a study of a number of UK government-industry 'task forces' and recent world events in drug regulation it identifies two opposing trends in play and suggests that there are actually limits to the all pervasive notion of governance. Instead, the multi-faceted policy and regulatory situation that applies to the life sciences is leading to the existence of a government governance continuum where different aspects of genomics and life science technologies sit at different points; contrasting the role of the state in controlling and framing the context for the implementation of innovations in life sciences through the regulatory system with the more participative forms of policy-making that are being fostered both to promote national competitiveness and encourage public acceptance of these new technologies.