Of being seen to do the right thing: provisional findings from the first Australian consensus conference on Gene Technology in the Food Chain

This is an initial evaluation of the first Australian consensus conference held in Canberra in March 1999. It illustrates lessons learnt from staging this method of participatory technology assessment (pTA) by applying an analytical framework consisting of three basic dimensions: social context; institutional context; and pTA arrangement. While Australia stands to benefit from implementing this new style of decision-making, there are obvious hurdles that must be overcome. When transplanting the consensus conference model into a new social context, it is apparent that a period of anticipatory socialisation is needed so that organisers and participants are clear about what can and cannot be achieved.