The American Biological Safety Association (ABSA) International is getting serious about biosecurity. Over the last several years, it has initiated the development of a biosecurity credential for biosafety professionals, and also started an annual Biosecurity Symposium.
To initiate the 1st Biosecurity Symposium from April 21-22, 2021, they invited me to give the keynote on the topic of “Biosecurity governance, concerns, and future directions.” I took the opportunity to advance the idea of understanding biosecurity governance as itself a place for experimentation. Drawing out why experimentation is a useful way to think of biosecurity governance, I provided several examples of the experimental mindset at work, and outlined the institutional reforms needed to support an experimental mindset, particularly in the United States. Ideas in the presentation were referenced throughout the rest of the symposium. You can watch the presentation below.