Mapping the interplay of policy paradigms and technology assessment in Flanders and Wallonia (Belgium)

Conference (2013, March 13)

This paper empirically assesses how science, technology, and innovation (STI) policies in the regions of Flanders and Wallonia (Belgium) are affected by, and possibly transformed through, technology ... [more ▼]

This paper empirically assesses how science, technology, and innovation (STI) policies in the regions of Flanders and Wallonia (Belgium) are affected by, and possibly transformed through, technology assessment (TA). Broadly defined, TA encompasses activities and programs that seek to expand and deepen the knowledge base of contemporary knowledge-based economies (KBEs), typically by including new actors (e.g. trade unions), ideas (e.g. science in society), and rationales (e.g. participatory techniques) in STI processes. The paper thus seeks to render concrete how TA ideas and programs unfold with, and potentially steer, new articulations of knowledge, which are imperative to present-day STI processes. Drawing on TA case studies in the two regions, the paper illustrates how TA takes on various shapes and forms, including that of mediating instrument, policy-oriented decision-making tool linked to Parliament, and experimental-deliberative mechanism. It is argued that while these TA forms engender new kinds of knowledge and knowledge production, the extent to which TA discourses and practices are effectively taken up in STI is contingent upon how TA taps into, and aligns itself with, global and regional dynamics. The former comprise the convergence of technology research and innovation around the KBE and the advent of strategic science, with its emphasis on real-world problem solving (relevance) and basic research (excellence); the latter entail constitutional reforms that spurred the regionalization of STI policy in Belgium. Our analysis brings a macro-sociological and political sensitivity to bear on TA. Rather than conceiving of TA as a mere management tool or governance technique, we suggest that TA processes enact, as well as counteract, dominant innovation policies. How TA positions itself or is positioned in relation to these policies, is particularly relevant to consider in view of the Flemish Government’s recent decision to abolish its parliamentary TA institute and the Walloon Government’s intention of erecting one. [less ▲]

Quo Vadis Parliamentary Technology Assessment? The Case of the Flemish Institute for Society and Technology (IST)

Conference (2012, October 19)

Since the 1980s, parliamentary technology assessment (PTA) institutes have emerged across Europe, typically with the aim of advising parliaments about the potential social, economic, and environmental ... [more ▼]

Since the 1980s, parliamentary technology assessment (PTA) institutes have emerged across Europe, typically with the aim of advising parliaments about the potential social, economic, and environmental implications of sciences and technologies. While until recently, these institutes appeared to have established themselves as dependable partners for policymakers, PTA is increasingly under threat from funders, as illustrated by the Danish Government’s call to disband the Danish Board of Technology and the Flemish Government’s decision to restructure the Flemish Institute Society and Technology (IST). It is hence uncertain whether these institutes will continue to fulfill their present functions as independent policy advisors and think tanks, and as catalysts for public debate. In this paper, we describe the difficulties Flemish PTA, and the IST in particular, faces today. Drawing on arguments and counterarguments to close down and/or reform the IST, we lay out envisioned futures for PTA in Flanders. From a concern with making PTA more visible and potent as a policymaking instrument, we distinguish four grand challenges PTA practitioners and advocates face: (1) increasing the public visibility of PTA; (2) ensuring the uptake of PTA ideas in science and technology discourses; (3) forging closer ties between PTA, academia, and industry; (4) inciting continuous reflection among PTA advocates about PTA aims, methods, and programs. Addressing these challenges will strengthen the PTA knowledge base and effectively align PTA with existing science governance discourses, such as responsible research and innovation, participatory science communication, and public dialogue. [less ▲]

Opening Participation through Participatory Technology Assessment: The Case of Nanotechnologies for Tomorrow's Society

Doctoral thesis (2012)

This dissertation examines how participants in a Flemish participatory technology assessment (pTA) on nanotechnologies defined and negotiated the meaning of participation in (nano)science and technology ... [more ▼]

This dissertation examines how participants in a Flemish participatory technology assessment (pTA) on nanotechnologies defined and negotiated the meaning of participation in (nano)science and technology in the course of their engagements. It focuses explicitly on the initiating role that social scientists played in the project and how they performed participation. The dissertation proposes a critical reappraisal of the way in which participation in pTA is planned and implemented, which is explicitly political in character. [less ▲]

Contesting Co-inquiry: "Noncommunicative" Discourse in a Flemish Participatory Technology Assessment

in Science Communication (2012), 34(1), 83-113

This article explores how social scientists, ethicists, and nanotechnologists construct research decisions together, while engaged in a Flemish participatory technology assessment on nanotechnologies. It ... [more ▼]

This article explores how social scientists, ethicists, and nanotechnologists construct research decisions together, while engaged in a Flemish participatory technology assessment on nanotechnologies. It finds that they routinely probe one another to make substantive contributions but avoid the argumentative initiative itself through various discursive strategies, such as reversing roles and delegating responsibility. It argues that these strategies emanate through the project’s methodology of co-inquiry, which depends on sharing and partnership, whereas some members resist participating on initiators’ terms. It links such “noncommunicative” action to unresolved disagreements between participants about project ends, conflicting approaches to decision making, and divergent appreciations of “uncertainty.” [less ▲]

Developing notions of responsible innovation in Flanders, Belgium: The case of nanotechnologies

Conference (2010, August 25)

Doing research and engaging oneself: Modes of normative engagement in public participation in science and technology

Conference (2009, May 25)

Public Engagement in Science and Technology: Negotiating the Meaning of Participation in a Flemish Participatory Technology Assessment

Conference (2008, August 20)

Nanotechnologies for Tomorrow's Society: A Case for Reflective Action Research in Flanders, Belgium

in Fisher, Erik; Selin, Cynthia; Wetmore, Jameson (Eds.) Presenting Futures: The Yearbook of Nanotechnologies in Society (2008)

Lose one another ... and find one another in nanospace: Nanotechnologies for Tomorrow's Society: a case for reflective action research in Flanders (NanoSoc)

in NanoEthics (2008)

"Nano-imaginaries" in a Future Smart Environment: Breakdown of a Three Round Delphi Study

Report (2007)

This report summarizes the key findings of a three round Delphi study involving nanotechnologists, Technology Assessment experts, and citizens in Flanders, on the future of a nanotechnology-enabled smart ... [more ▼]

This report summarizes the key findings of a three round Delphi study involving nanotechnologists, Technology Assessment experts, and citizens in Flanders, on the future of a nanotechnology-enabled smart environment. First it lays out the conceptual basis and methodological design of the Delphi study from the perspective of the Flemish Interactive Technology Assessment project ‘Nanotechnologies for Tomorrow’s Society’, which the authors coordinate. It then discerns respondents’ envisaged solutions or responses to key issues or problems in relation to nanotechnology’s emergence, thereby identifying recurrent themes in respondents’ narratives, including personalization, user convenience, and prevention, which, it is argued, are all concerned with the more fundamental issues of human control over nature and human destiny. The report also gives a brief impression of the resultant ‘nano-imaginaries’ which emerged in the final round and concludes with a critical afterthought in view of the objectives which the Delphi study sought to achieve. [less ▲]