Co-production of an institution: Montserrat Volcano Observatory and social dependence on science

This paper documents the foundation and work of the Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO), on the island of Montserrat in the Eastern Caribbean. It describes the co-production of the MVO as the result of a crisis-driven dialogue between scientists and officials. This involved contested understandings of the role of volcano observatories, and the balancing of limited resources within and beyond the observatory. Challenges also arose early on in the MVO's history within the social context of the science itself as a result of different institutional and cultural framings. Montserrat's government desperately needed scientific advice, but the high level of uncertainty involved in volcano forecasting combined with conflicts in the different scientific communities involved appeared to threaten the island's future. In the following years, the institutionalising of volcanological science on Montserrat sought to overcome those early challenges and produce a dialogue that benefited both science and Montserrat. Copyright The Author 2012. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com, Oxford University Press.