What is "geneforum"

Geneforum is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization founded in Oregon in 1998. The organization's mission is to promote civic discourse about genetics through public education, engagement and consultation.

Core Values

The following core beliefs guide Geneforum's activities:

• The health of a democratic society depends on robust citizen participation in the development of public policies.
• Policy decisions (in genetics) will result in better outcomes if they are grounded in both public values and scientific knowledge.
• Informed dialogue leads to better understanding, consensus building and a more stable environment for science, medicine, and commerce.
• democratic systems are required to enable informed, constructive dialogue.

The Geneforum Model

Geneforum was established to ensure that the decisions about genetic research are informed by public values. Geneforum's approach is similar to the widely respected and extensively field-tested model of public engagement created by Oregon Health Decisions in the 1980s.

Geneforum uses a three-pronged approach:

Public Education: To increase the capacity of citizens to understand the impact and relevance of genetics to their lives. Scientific facts are the foundation by which Geneforum explains and conveys these issues to the general public.

Public Dialogue: To create sound and just genetic policy through increased public engagement. Geneforum promotes dialogue with the public using techniques that include an interactive Web site, partnerships with public radio, community presentations, academic partnerships, qualitative and quantitative research. As a result, citizens are better able to understand and make informed decisions about the complex social and ethical dimensions of genetic research.

Public Consultation: To inform key stakeholders through the measurement and monitoring of public values. Using its online and offline resources, Geneforum obtains and transmits values held by the public to policy makers, scientists, and healthcare practitioners wherever they can be found from academia to hospitals to corporate boardrooms to legislative chambers. Geneforum becomes a catalyst for public participation resulting in better science, medicine, socially just and informed policies.