Public dialogue creates opportunities for communities, researchers, policymakers and industry to explore new or complex issues together.
Why? Because science and technology are more effective and more trusted when they reflect the values of the society they're meant to serve.
CSIRO Public Dialogues helps organisations understand not only what people think about new ideas, but why they hold those views.
Drawing on leading international practice, public dialogue enables informed discussion early in the innovation process, before decisions and pathways are locked in. This creates space for community perspectives to help shape future directions on topics of national importance.
Outcomes from Public Dialogue
- Socially informed policy, research and investment decisions
- Increased public trust and support through transparent and inclusive engagement
- Policy and research that is more cost effective in the long term
- Generate insights that may not emerge through surveys alone
- Increased responsible, trusted and inclusive innovation.
Our approach
Public dialogue is a deliberative engagement method that brings together citizens and subject matter experts in facilitated face to face discussions.
Unlike consultation, information sessions or market research, dialogue focuses on mutual learning.
Participants explore evidence, consider different perspectives and discuss trade-offs, helping to reveal how people form views about complex issues and emerging technologies.
Our approach draws on principles used in the United Kingdom's internationally recognised Sciencewise program. CSIRO's first public dialogue on quantum technologies adapted key elements of this program, including early engagement, inclusive participation and recognition that public perspectives are an important source of insight for research and innovation adoption.
Partner with us
CSIRO Public Dialogue can be applied across a wide range of topics. If you are looking to make research and policy more impactful and inclusive, please contact our team.
Exploring Public Dialogue on Quantum Technologies: Insights and lessons from a pilot engagement
Quantum technologies are advancing rapidly and are expected to shape many aspects of Australian society over the coming decade.
While current discourse has focused heavily on technical capability and economic opportunity, there is increasing recognition that public confidence, trust and legitimacy will influence how quantum technologies are developed and deployed in practice.
This in person pilot public dialogue was undertaken with 30 community members and experts, to explore the value of dialogue-based engagement as an early mechanism for supporting responsible quantum innovation.
The pilot brought together citizens and quantum specialists in a facilitated, in-person dialogue designed to support learning and reflection about quantum technologies whose future applications and societal implications are still evolving. Rather than testing public acceptance or seeking consensus, the dialogue focused on how citizens reason about emerging technologies, the criteria they use to judge public benefit, and the conditions they believe are necessary for science and technology to work for everyone.
Key findings
- People can engage meaningfully with emerging technologies even when their technical understanding is limited.
- Support for quantum technologies was generally conditional rather than automatic, depending on how technologies are governed and used.
- Trust was linked to governance, transparency and accountability, not technical performance alone.
- Participants consistently prioritised public benefit, equity and responsible stewardship.
- Early engagement can help identify community expectations before technologies and policy settings become established
As a pilot, the dialogue also tested the suitability of dialogue-based engagement for quantum technologies in Australia. The findings suggest that dialogue can support meaningful engagement even when awareness is low and uncertainty is high, and that confidence to participate can precede technical understanding.
While the dialogue focused on quantum technologies, much of the reasoning applied along with the trust considerations and legitimacy criteria articulated by participants, reflect broader public expectations that are likely to arise in other complex areas of science and technology.
In this sense, the pilot provides insights that are directly relevant to socially informed quantum innovation while also informing the design of public engagement for emerging technologies characterised by uncertainty, system-level impacts and evolving societal implications.
Download the report:
- Exploring Public Dialogue on Quantum Technologies: Insights and lessons from a pilot engagement
- Exploring Public Dialogue on Quantum Technologies: Insights and lessons from a pilot engagement - accessible version
Want to know more about Quantum?
Visit our Industry Insights Hub and catch up with CSIRO Conversations: Quantum for every business webinar.
Public dialogue creates opportunities for communities, researchers, policymakers and industry to explore new or complex issues together.
Why? Because science and technology are more effective and more trusted when they reflect the values of the society they're meant to serve.
CSIRO Public Dialogues helps organisations understand not only what people think about new ideas, but why they hold those views.
Drawing on leading international practice, public dialogue enables informed discussion early in the innovation process, before decisions and pathways are locked in. This creates space for community perspectives to help shape future directions on topics of national importance.
Outcomes from Public Dialogue
- Socially informed policy, research and investment decisions
- Increased public trust and support through transparent and inclusive engagement
- Policy and research that is more cost effective in the long term
- Generate insights that may not emerge through surveys alone
- Increased responsible, trusted and inclusive innovation.
Our approach
Public dialogue is a deliberative engagement method that brings together citizens and subject matter experts in facilitated face to face discussions.
Unlike consultation, information sessions or market research, dialogue focuses on mutual learning.
Participants explore evidence, consider different perspectives and discuss trade-offs, helping to reveal how people form views about complex issues and emerging technologies.
Our approach draws on principles used in the United Kingdom's internationally recognised Sciencewise program. CSIRO's first public dialogue on quantum technologies adapted key elements of this program, including early engagement, inclusive participation and recognition that public perspectives are an important source of insight for research and innovation adoption.
Partner with us
CSIRO Public Dialogue can be applied across a wide range of topics. If you are looking to make research and policy more impactful and inclusive, please contact our team.
Exploring Public Dialogue on Quantum Technologies: Insights and lessons from a pilot engagement
Quantum technologies are advancing rapidly and are expected to shape many aspects of Australian society over the coming decade.
While current discourse has focused heavily on technical capability and economic opportunity, there is increasing recognition that public confidence, trust and legitimacy will influence how quantum technologies are developed and deployed in practice.
This in person pilot public dialogue was undertaken with 30 community members and experts, to explore the value of dialogue-based engagement as an early mechanism for supporting responsible quantum innovation.
The pilot brought together citizens and quantum specialists in a facilitated, in-person dialogue designed to support learning and reflection about quantum technologies whose future applications and societal implications are still evolving. Rather than testing public acceptance or seeking consensus, the dialogue focused on how citizens reason about emerging technologies, the criteria they use to judge public benefit, and the conditions they believe are necessary for science and technology to work for everyone.
Key findings
- People can engage meaningfully with emerging technologies even when their technical understanding is limited.
- Support for quantum technologies was generally conditional rather than automatic, depending on how technologies are governed and used.
- Trust was linked to governance, transparency and accountability, not technical performance alone.
- Participants consistently prioritised public benefit, equity and responsible stewardship.
- Early engagement can help identify community expectations before technologies and policy settings become established
As a pilot, the dialogue also tested the suitability of dialogue-based engagement for quantum technologies in Australia. The findings suggest that dialogue can support meaningful engagement even when awareness is low and uncertainty is high, and that confidence to participate can precede technical understanding.
While the dialogue focused on quantum technologies, much of the reasoning applied along with the trust considerations and legitimacy criteria articulated by participants, reflect broader public expectations that are likely to arise in other complex areas of science and technology.
In this sense, the pilot provides insights that are directly relevant to socially informed quantum innovation while also informing the design of public engagement for emerging technologies characterised by uncertainty, system-level impacts and evolving societal implications.
Download the report:
- Exploring Public Dialogue on Quantum Technologies: Insights and lessons from a pilot engagement PDF (826 KB)
- Exploring Public Dialogue on Quantum Technologies: Insights and lessons from a pilot engagement - accessible version TXT (73 KB)
Want to know more about Quantum?
Visit our Industry Insights Hub and catch up with CSIRO Conversations: Quantum for every business webinar.