Consensus-Building Processes in Society and Genetically Modified Organisms: The Concept and Practice of Multistakeholder Processes

This chapter begins by outlining key conceptual issues in multistakeholder processes. Three examples of such processes from across the globe are then presented: first, an electronic multistakeholder dialogue from India; second, scenario workshops from Denmark; and third, a rights-based approach from the World Commission on Dams. The three examples have been selected to illustrate key issues outlined in the three conceptual pieces. Although the examples do not focus on biotechnology, and although only one of them is from a specific developing country (India), together they help build understanding of the kinds of conceptual and practical issues that must be addressed in multistakeholder processes. It is also important to recognize that the various attempts to raise awareness and build consensus on biotechnology in developing countries have not been explicitly conceived or implemented as multistakeholder processes in the sense that they have not taken full account of the central challenges facing such processes. These challenges are outlined here, along with the most promising approaches to addressing them.