TECHNIKFOLGENABSCHÄTZUNG Theorie und Praxis

ITAS-News

TAMI - a new European Thematic Network on Technology Assessment

The project TAMI (Technology Assessment in Europe; between Method and Impact) as a new thematic network funded by the European Commission under the STRATA (Strategic Analysis of Specific Political Issues) programme was launched at the beginning of 2002. The main objective of TAMI is to create and promote a structured dialogue within the Technology Assessment (TA) community as well as between TA experts and policy makers with the aim of improving the impact of TA in Science and Technology (S&T) policy. TAMI involves a group of leading TA experts from major European institutions who will have the chance to discuss core issues in European TA. Such exchange will provide the unique opportunity to exchange information and knowledge gathered through many years of European TA and put it into practical use. In detail, the objectives of the project are:

• Review and evaluation of the state-of-the-art of methodologies and practices used in current European TA. This is necessary for the creation of an information basis for the development of the structured dialogue. It refers to an on-going debate in the TA community that is constantly renewing itself with new paradigms and ideas.
• Review and evaluation of impact assessment exercises that have been undertaken by European TA institutions. Similarly to the above objective, this is a preliminary step for the preparation of the ensuing dialogue. It constitutes a new endeavour in European TA since so far there has not been any attempt to collate and evaluate impact assessment processes in TA.
• Resulting from the first two objectives, the next step will be the comparative evaluation between method and impact in TA whenever the documentation is comprehensive enough to allow for such endeavour. This also represents the first part of the dialogue which includes two of the main dimensions (Method-Impact) of the attempted common reference system.
• Comparative review of major European S&T policy structures. Taking as an example major European policy cultures, this part will discuss the dimension of Policy in the reference system within the European context.
• Identification of "best practices" in TA that maximise impact relative to the policy needs. This will be the first approach towards the reference system by attempting to map methodological practices in relation to specific policy requirements.
• Creation of a common reference system around the dimensions Method, Impact and Policy. This is envisaged as a major outcome of the project as it involves the combination of the three main pillars represented by the three groups (two expert groups and policy makers) in the process of the structured dialogue.

The idea to offer this project to the European Commission was born in the follow-up of a conference organised at the European Academy in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler in September of 2000 (the results have recently been published, cf. Decker 2001). The project picks up ideas and challenges from theoretic work (e.g., Grunwald 2000) as well as from concrete experience (e.g., Vig, Paschen 2000).

The European Academy acts as coordinator, the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS) and the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST), London, are core partners. Further members of the network are

• the Scientific and Technological Options Assessment Programme (STOA) of the European Parliament,
• the Academy for Technology Assessment in Baden-Württemberg (CTA),
• the Danish Board of Technology (TEKNO),
• the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (TA Centre), Switzerland,
• the Centre of Science, Technology and Society Studies at the Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences (STSS Centre) and
• the Institute of Modern Civilisation (IPWC), Poland.

(Armin Grunwald)

Literature

Decker, M. (ed.), 2001:
Interdisciplinarity in Technology Assessment. Implementations and its chances and limits. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer

Grunwald, A., 2000:
Technik für die Gesellschaft von Morgen. Möglichkeiten und Grenzen gesellschaftlicher Technikgestaltung. Frankfurt: Campus

Vig, N. J.; Paschen, H. (eds.), 2000:
Parliaments and Technology. The development of Technology Assessment in Europe. New York: State University of New York Press.

Stand: 11.04.2002 - Kommentare und Bemerkungen an: