There is a great deal of TA activity going on in Europe already: practices involve a range of methods of cross-disciplinary expert studies, stakeholder involvement, citizen consultation and parliamentary discourse. PACITA aims to use the existing methods and to develop and communicate new ones.
In the future, technology assessment (TA) should contribute to research and technology policy in even more European countries. Through PACITA, 15 European partners analyse the situation and propose paths to establish TA.
PACITA will document the existing practices and describe schemes for using them at the European level. In addition, it will help establish a set of training schemes as well as a Web Portal to European TA expertise
On a national level it aims to create a debate about parliamentary TA in those countries which do not have formally established TA institutions yet. On a European level, it will invite experts, societal actors and politicians to a debate on these practices.
Finally, it will provide three projects as examples on expert-basedmethods, stakeholder involvement and citizen consultation. An effective communications strategy is vital to transport the information to a broad public audience.
An independent evaluator will monitor the progress and results of the Action Plan. PACITA is coordinated by The Danish Board of Technology Foundation, an internationally renowned TA institution. ITA is the Austrian project partner of PACITA. ITA contributes to all work packages and leads both the module “Training TA” and the establishment of the TA Portal.
VOLTA, a new magazine on Science, Technology and Society in Europe, was born out of the initiative of the fifteen technology assessment organisations that work together in the European PACITA project. Articles about TA relevant issues offer policy-makers valuable information for knowledge-based decision-making.
Van Est et al. present a ‘relational’ model for analysing technology assessment (TA) institutions. Expanding on metaphor of TA as a bridge between science, society and policy, the authors describe how such bridges are established in terms of network relations. European TA institutions in various ways link parliaments and governments with civil society and science. In part, TA projects provide such linkages, but importantly, TA institutions in themselves also provide informal personal links between societal spheres. With in-depth examples from diffrent European member states, Van Est et al. provide institutional entrepreneurs with rich material for imagining institutional TA arrangements that might fi within their own national arenas.
Nentwich gives an in-depth account of developments within the TA community towards a common e-infrastructure for technology assessment (TA). The author argues that while technology development is genuinely international, there are too few endeavours to address technology assessment (TA) issues internationally; likewise, there are no sustainable online platforms for knowledge sharing, dissemination and public debate as yet. The PACITA project partners therefore worked to establish such an infrastructure by means which the article details. Creating and sustaining a strong, interactive e-infrastructure for cross-European TA is both greatly challenging and worthwhile as it would ultimately help to nuance and possibly even democratize European science, technology and innovation policy. Nentwich therefore argues for the continuation of these efforts by central actors in and supporters of TA.
The authors give a case-based state-of-play account of cross-European TA cooperation in service of national parliaments as well as the European Parliament. Most TA units have formed their role around the specific needs of their national or regional parliaments and other national or regional target groups, making it challenging to shift focus and create new roles for themselves in a European sphere. This article presents recommendations on how cross-European TA can be done in the future with a focus on three aspects of cross-European TA: (1) the added value of cross-European work and lessons from past experiences; (2) the identification of effient and credible modes of cooperation to conceptualize cross-European TA; (3) the identification of relevant target groups and addressees and the bringing about of impact on the European level.
-> More than 1000 citizens in eleven European countries discussed consumption policy within a standardised setting.
-> Citizens demand environmentally friendly, socially responsible and economically affordable products and services.
-> Their main opinion: policy-makers should take ambitious steps to foster sustainable and environmentally friendly consumption in Europe.
-> Über 1000 BürgerInnen aus elf europäischen Ländern diskutieren über Konsumpolitik im Rahmen eines standardisierten Beteiligungsverfahrens.
-> Die BürgerInnen fordern umweltfreundliche, sozialverträgliche und leistbare Produkte und Dienstleistungen.
-> Die Politik sollte aus Sicht der BürgerInnen ambitionierte Ziele verfolgen, um umweltbewussten und sozialverträglichen Konsum in Europa zu fördern.
The whole of Europe is getting more closely connected and, with the rapid technological development, there seems to be a need for establishing networks and knowledge bases in a cross-European manner. This can be advantageous for both the national and regional levels of policy making as well as for the European one. This paper discusses the past, present and future of cross-European work going on in the field of parliamentary technology assessment (PTA). The main questions to be dealt with will be: What did we learn from past cross-European projects? What is the additional value provided by cross-European TA? And how can cross-European TA be structurally established in the long term? To answer them, we analyse the existing framework conditions for cross-European projects, compare ten cases of previous cross-European projects and draw some lessons. In the final part we present conclusions and recommendations for fostering cross-European cooperation within the TA community.
Um die Sichtbarkeit von Technikfolgenabschätzung in der Wissenschaft und der interessierten Öffentlichkeit zu erhöhen, wurde Ende 2012 das DFG-geförderte Projekt »Kooperativer Aufbau eines Fachportals Technikfolgenabschätzung auf Basis dezentraler Informationsressourcen«, kurz openTA, begonnen. Auf europäischer Ebene verfolgt das EU-Projekt »Parliaments and Civil Society in Technology Assessment« (PACITA) das Ziel, die Kapazitäten und institutionellen Voraussetzungen für wissensbasierte politische Entscheidungsfindung zu erweitern und die parlamentarische TA in Europa zu fördern. In diesem Zusammenhang ist das PACITA TA-Portal entstanden, das in gewisser Weise die europäische Sicht auf TA im Web ergänzt. Entwicklungsstand und Nutzungsmöglichkeiten beider Portale sind Gegenstand dieses Beitrags.
This article introduces an inclusive way of modelling (Parliamentary) Technology Assessment, (P)TA as developed in the European PACITA project. It incorporates interdependencies between and diversity among existing and potential (P)TA practices in a more inclusive and fine-grained way than existing literature does. We model (P)TA as a mediating function between the spheres of parliament, government, science and technology, and society. We suggest that this mediation takes place through a set of interaction mechanisms that include institutional, organizational and project dimensions. In this way, we distinguish among 15 potential interaction models for (P)TA. Our more inclusive way of modelling may be used to map and discuss fruitful evolutionary pathways for (P)TA in countries and regions where (P)TA already exists or where the ambassadorship for (P)TA is about to take off. In the conclusion, we reflect on the relevance of our modelling for the discourse on and practice of responsible innovation.
-> The world’s population is ageing rapidly: in 2050, there will be three times as many people over the age of eighty than today.
-> Consequently, the demand for care and social services will rise. Meanwhile, disposable resourceswill decrease: social and healthcare budgets are shrinking as is the number of skilled personnel.
-> Great hope is projected on technology to support solutions for these challenges. But how do we need to shape technology in order to really support the elderly and meet their needs?
-> Die Weltbevölkerung altert rapide: Bis 2050 wird es drei Mal so viele Menschen über achtzig geben wie heute.
-> Der Bedarf an Gesundheits- und Sozialleistungen wird als Folge steigen. Die dafür verfügbaren Ressourcen werden gleichzeitig knapper: Sozial- und Gesundheitsbudgets schrumpfen ebenso wie die Zahl qualifizierter Arbeitskräfte.
-> In der Auseinandersetzung mit diesen Herausforderungen gilt Technik als große Hoffnungsträgerin. Wie müssen wir Technik aber gestalten, damit sie älteren Menschen tatsächlich nützt und ihren Bedürfnissen gerecht wird?
03/2011 - 02/2015