Technology Assessment and Participation

One of the important tasks of technology assessment (TA for short) is to examine the consequences of scientific and technological change. Especially in the field of sustainability technologies as well as digital and interactive technologies, the following applies: If opportunities and risks are recognised and debated at an early stage, robust design options arise. In this context, participatory assessments and solution concepts can be developed by involving societal stakeholders in order to exploit innovation potentials at an early stage and to avoid blockade situations. TA studies are not only aimed at decision-makers in politics and society, but also at the general public.

The IZT, as the authoritative institution for TA in Germany, therefore sees it as its task,

  • present current technology developments in a fact- and evidence-based manner
  • Identify the technology impacts, including cross-cutting societal impacts.
  • to show the respective actors and framework conditions
  • to neutrally contrast the opposing positions of these actors, as well as
  • to name scientific and technical uncertainties.

The IZT has been a permanent consortium member of the Office of Technology Assessment at the German Bundestag (TAB) since 2013. In recent years, IZT has worked on TA projects for the German Bundestag, including Algorithms in Digital Media, Artificial Intelligence and Distributed Ledger Technology in Public Administration, New Electronic Media and Addictive Behaviour, Potentials of Telemedicine or Energy Saving Effects in the Building Sector. We have also conducted TA studies for other clients. These include Quantified Self at the interface between lifestyle and medicine for TA SWISS or our study on RFID for the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI).

Projects

A selection of projects from the past five years is presented below. A complete overview is available via the search.

tab graphic izt

2013 - 2028

Parliamentary technology assessment with extended foresight process

2019 - 2020

Opportunities of digital administration

2017

Risk Analysis Emergency Data Management (NFDM)

2019 - 2020

Petitions to the German Bundestag - Awareness and use of the right to petition

2019

Guidelines for humane work in the digital world

2017 - 2019

Algorithms in digital media and their influence on opinion forming

2014 - 2016

Online citizen participation in parliamentary work

2016 - 2017

Health apps

2017 - 2019

LogMySelf - Opportunities, risks and future of lifelogging and self-measurement in discourse with young people

2014 - 2016

New electronic media and addictive behaviour

2018 - 2019

Potential benefits of innovative and participatory methodological procedures for the German Bundestag

2013 - 2022

Technology Assessment at the German Bundestag

2021 - 2023

Crisis radar - Strengthening the resilience of society, politics and the economy through crisis prediction

2016 - 2017

Quantified Self - between lifestyle and medicine
izt project

2013 - 2016

Strong female craftswomen Energy + Efficiency
izt project

2013 - 2014

Megatrends and intralogistics
izt project

2013 - 2014

Preliminary study: Online citizen participation in parliamentary work
izt project

2013 - 2014

Evaluation of the energy transition measures
izt project

2013 - 2014

Technology assessment "Child and youth media protection"
izt project

2009 - 2010

Ideation Workshop "Voice"
izt project

2009 - 2012

Localisation technologies
izt project

2009 - 2010

Trend study "Future of the German intralogistics industry 2020+"
izt project

2008

Future infectious disease threats in the European Union: Identification and assessment of infectious disease threat scenarios for the European Union.
izt project

2006

Networking e-health companies regionally
izt project

2005

Workshop preparation, implementation and documentation as part of Deutsche Telekom's "Healthy Living" lighthouse project
izt project

2004

Risks and opportunities of the use of RFID systems
izt project

2004

EU enlargement in the context of increasing internationalisation - effects on tourism
izt project

2004 - 2006

Success factors of virtual companies
izt project

2021 - 2022

IKKRITI - Integral consequence analysis for critical infrastructures