Organizing the HGI: Social Impact and Technology Design

This sociological study is a prospective field research project on the development of the human genome initiative during the first half of the 1990's. The study is examining how the genomics community goes about trying to build a technological and social system capable of mapping and sequencing large genomes. The study is motivated by the belief that it is likely that: (a) decisions about the technological and organizational structure of the genome project will influence the social impact of the HGP; and (b) decisions about how to manage scientific collaboration on this scale will affect research ethics and practices well beyond the genomics community. For this study, topics of particular interest include the setting of policy agendas; the patterns of collaboration, competition, and data sharing in the genomics community; the selection of technological and organizational strategies; and the interaction of diverse technological cultures (such as molecular biology and computer science). The study is examining the evolution of the HGP through interviewing and participant observation.