Lay attitudes towards nuclear fusion. Scoping study for the sociological research programme for EUROFusion

In the framework of the Socio-Economic Studies Project implemented under the EUROFusion Consortium one of the focus points for the sociological research to be carried out within the 2014-2018 timeframe concerns public awareness and acceptance of fusion energy. Assessing the attitude of the lay public towards fusion has been identified as an important topic to be addressed in the SES programme. The work carried out in 2014 in relation to this topic focused on the analysis of a number of options, with special attention given to surveys, in order to point out some possible research paths that could be followed starting with 2015. In this report we first make a brief overview of public involvement methods and illustrate their use in relation to the development of new technologies. Next, we look more in detail how was fusion addressed in previous European surveys and finally propose a dedicated section to be included in the Belgian SCK•CEN Barometer. The latter can provide in-depth analysis and serve as a large scale pilot study in the preparation of a future multi-national survey.