Monitoring |
|
An integral part of TA is, and always has been, to monitor technological trends and societal developments relevant to technology policy. At ITA, we also monitor international trends in technology assessment. For example, in an explorative project on nanotechnology, we investigated the international state of the art of accompanying research on this issue; a project on the potential of bionics is on the way. From such monitoring activities new research areas for TA may emerge, as is currently the case with nanotechnology. TA institutions need to have profound methodological knowledge in order to undertake scientific research. Apart from TA-specific methods, TA relies on approved empirical methods from Social Sciences, both quantitative and qualitative. ITA also engages in methodological improvements of qualitative methods (expert interviews). In addition, with today's environmental and technological conflicts on the public agenda, it is particularly important to involve citizens and/or stakeholders. ITA has a long-standing tradition in employing TA-specific methods such as participatory procedures, the Delphi instrument or "Foresight Studies". Back in the late 1990s, ITA initiated the first Austrian technology Delphi survey. Ever since, the theoretical discussion on and conceptual development of participation experiments have become an integral part of ITA's work programme. In the light of the increasing importance of new actors in the design of technologies, a current project investigates options to enhance participation in Austria's technology policy.
|
All