COGEM study Do It Yourself Biology

This study is investigation into the development of the Do It Yourself Biology (DIYBio) movement in The Netherlands. The report was commissioned by the COGEM, an advisory committee on genetic modification to the Dutch government. The following three main questions were addressed:

• The first question was to characterize the DIYBio movement based on it’s underlying leitmotiv and that of it’s participants, their backgrounds and the size of the community.
• The second question was to create an overvidew of what type of experiments are conducted, in what facilities, what means are used and how these activities are organized.
• The third question was to explore the ethical and societal meaning of DIYBio, the awareness and mitigation of potential risks, the ethics and potential contribution of DIYBio to knowledge production, innovation and societal debates.

The research was conducted in collaboration with LIS Consult.