How to assess technological developments in basic research? (original) (raw)
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Science and Public Policy, 2014
This paper presents comparative work from the [X] project on technology appraisal. It focuses on studies of 'advisory domains', i.e. more or less distinct traditions for assessment of technologies, such as risk analysis, foresight and ethical assessments. The purpose of the study was to increase the understanding of current assessments in order to identify whether more integrated approaches seemed to be needed. In this article we present an analytic approach for studying assessments across advisory domains and present findings from our analytic studies, showing differences in methodological characteristics across the domains. We discuss how the domains partially overlap and identify gaps. We show how most of the selected assessments address technology trajectories and science, technology and innovation policies, and few address specific applications. Finally, we argue that quality control is important for the legitimacy of advice on emerging science and technologies and that the domains are important in this respect.
Poiesis & Praxis, 2010
The presented paper addresses the concept of technoscience and its possible implications for technology assessment. Drawing on the discourse about converging technologies, it formulates the assumption that a general shift within science from epistemic cultures to techno-epistemic cultures lies at the heart of the propagated convergence between nano-, bio-, info-and cogno-sciences and technologies. This shift is adequately captured-so the main thesis-by the technoscience label. The paper elaborates on the shared characteristics of the new technosciences, especially their hybrid character and their non-linear integration of basic research, object construction and technological innovation. Recent calls for new modes of technology governance (e.g. for upstream technology assessment and public participation) are discussed against the background of these technoscience characteristics. It is concluded that an adequate model of emerging technosciences and a detailed understanding of their characteristics is of paramount importance for current practices of technology assessment.
Key Development, Application Context and Forms of Technology Assessment
Acta academica karviniensia, 2014
The key intention of this study is to outline primary characteristics, the application context and the forms of Technology Assessment (TA). Identifying determinants and effects of a new technology usually requires an interdisciplinary approach. The final "technology picture" should be based on a broader rational consensus of the scientific discussion, but TA can also require the participation of non-experts who can bring a more comprehensive insight into the process. This study also deals with the historical characterization of TA within technology identification processes, as a part of integrated Technology management. The research was carried out based on an intensive literature study, the extensive Bibliometrical analysis especially of the Sciencedirect and the EBSCOhost databases, and several case studies.
The Case for Technology Assessment
Humanity's technological capabilities for benefits also create possibilities for detriments. We are now at the threshold of re-defining humanity's very existence. This means the risks are as great as the promises of wellbeing. There have been too many toxic products, system overloads and industrial accidents for us to accept well-meaning promises, regardless of the sources. We need a systematic approach to evaluating EVERY proposal for technology BEFORE the innovations are deployed. This is a paradigm for Technology Assessment that can provide the needed evaluation.
Key Issues of Integrative Technology Assessment
This paper has been written with the intention to present some conceptual and programmatic considerations. The length of its complete title is therefore nothing less than an expression of the idea to pay attention to far-reaching and broad civilizational and paradigmatic connections instead of focussing on a single area of professional specialization. In this way – and according to KISS, a well-known principle of great design that says “Keep It Simple and Straightforward” – four clusters of contents will be introduced and treated subsequently: (1) “Progress”, because its shaping is indeed the central subject of governance of science and technology in general and of technology assessment (TA) in particular! (2) “Vulnerability”, because that is the very challenge of our times! (3) “Sustainable Development”, because that really answers the question of how to gain the future! (4) “Governance of Science and Technology”, because evidently there is some discrepancy between a growing demand for a good governance of these issues and a lack of satisfying strategies and concepts of how to do that! Therefore – and because of the fact that technology assessment is of crucial importance for any ambitious governance approach – I would like to introduce a framework concept that I call “Integrative Technology Assessment” (ITA). Moreover, and in order to develop my argument in a clear and understandable way, there will be composed four general theses on the line of the four points, one of each for “progress”, “vulnerability” and “sustainable development” plus one for the concluding general thesis.
The present work deals with the use of innovation indicators in the decisionmaking process. It intends to contribute to the discussion on the construction, use and analysis of indicator systems and also to evaluate its weight on decision-making in innovation. The goal is to help understand how innovation indicators can influence technology policy and through it, society at large. This work will start by analysing the use of indicators (their problems and consistency) and other sources of information that contribute to build the opinions of innovation decision makers. This will be followed by a survey and interviews with main innovation actors. The results will shed light on the impact of the use of indicators by the innovation community -both in terms of technology policy and in the social sphere. Proposals and implications for the future will be advanced, hopefully adding new contributions to the governance of the science, technology and innovation field.
Editorial Technology Assessment for Addressing Grand Societal Challenges
IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management
Emerging technologies are both a cause of many grand societal challenges (GSCs) facing twenty-first-century societies and an integral part of some of their most promising solutions. As an element of the GSCs, technology becomes intertwined with several interrelated issues that constitute the GSCs. This calls for approaches to Technology Assessment (TA) that account for the paradoxical role of technology in the GSCs, and the imperative and complexity of pointing technological innovation toward addressing the GSCs. In this introduction to the special issue, we identify three major streams in TA research and practice, namely TA as a policy instrument, a deliberation process, and an issue field. These streams highlight tensions between relying on experts and on the inclusion of various stakeholders in TA processes, and between a TA framing around the intersection of technology and critical issues around critical issues, such as those constituting the GSCs. We discuss the advantages and challenges of each stream. We also outline and discuss key principles for conducting TA in the context of GSCs. We end by introducing the four papers that constitute this special issue.
Traditional and Modern Technology Assessment: Toward a Toolkit
Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 1998
Technology assessment (TA) as a discipline includes rather different approaches and methods. Traditionally, the discipline has focused on forecasting, impact assessment, and policy studies. Later more processoriented approaches, such as constructive technology assessment (CTA), were developed that were aimed explicitly at influencing the shape of new technologies. Although the new approaches have enriched the field of technology assessment, the scope and variety of the field has increased, particularly concerning its methods. These range from trend extrapolation and Delphi's to interventions in innovation networks and consensus conferences. This article aims to classify the approaches and methods of TA into a common framework. Distinctions are made between methods of analysis and intervention methods, and between methods functioning as project layout and mere tools. Some criteria are formulated for the choice of methods. In this way, the article attempts to increase the coherence of the field of TA, and to make it more transparent to nonpractitioners such as scientists and engineers, government employees, and members of civil movements.