Novel integrated approach to assessing complex technology issues
Policymakers and the public must often rely on expert scientific opinions regarding the risks and potential consequences of novel and complex innovations. However, individual frameworks may not adequately represent and assess important issues of societal concern. The EU-funded EST-FRAME (Integrated EST framework) project addressed the European Commission's call for a more integrated approach to assessment and governance of emerging science and technology (EST). Work began by appraising current assessment techniques for evaluating EST in order to map their strengths and weaknesses and determine appropriate application domains. Current EST policy trends that influence assessment were studied, and an analysis of integration needs in existing EST assessment was also performed. To design a flexible, integrated framework, researchers carried out four EST case studies involving nanotechnology in food production, synthetic biology, biofuels and cloud computing. With the support of about 120 key stakeholders and four dedicated workshops, the case studies helped to determine how existing frameworks are applied to assess a wide variety of impacts in these domains. Project partners developed an analytical protocol that was used to evaluate both a broad spectrum of assessments in each case and the most important technology advisory practices across cases. Findings resulted in several recommendations mainly for policymakers and assessment practitioners. The TranSTEP approach – the integrated EST framework for assessment – was finalised at the end of the project. It fills the important need for a holistic combination of partial assessments. This should facilitate the multidimensional policy support necessary for responsible, transparent and publicly acceptable EST governance. The framework is currently being applied and further developed in several projects. See here for details. EST-FRAME's comprehensive assessment framework enables policymakers and assessment practitioners to combine tools and methods in a flexible way without sacrificing transparency and accountability when assessing technologies or technological applications. It will ultimately lead to EST development in line with societal objectives.
Keywords
Technology development, integrated assessment framework, emerging science and technology
