Gene Drive Consortium Outlines Best Practices in Stakeholder Engagement

Target Malaria, a not-for-profit research consortium developing a vector-control gene drive approach to eliminate malaria, presented their stakeholder engagement strategy and how these translated guidance documents into practice. The case study is published in Malaria Journal.

Gene drive mosquitoes are gaining more popularity as a potential tool to combat mosquitoes carrying malaria. To ensure responsible gene drive research, guidance documents have been released by the World Health Organization, National Academies, and expert groups. These guidance documents indicate the importance of stakeholder engagement activities, but there is no specific guidance on implementing them. Target Malaria's experiences in stakeholder engagement serve as a valuable case study on how the activities can be operationalized. Their engagement strategy combines published recommendations, information collected from the local context of their project locations, and a set of guiding principles in their decision-making.

The operationalization of their strategy is based on the following:

• adaptation to stakeholder preferences
• inclusiveness
• empowerment and accountability

While the approach discussed in the study was developed for gene drive research, the recommendations may also be applied to other applications that require community engagement.

Read more in Malaria Journal.