What a Difference a p(TA) Makes. Policy-Makers, Experts and the Public in Decision-Making on Risky Technologies

It is almost a truism that technological innovation does not only hold great promises, but often involves substantial risks and even ethical problems. Thus, the question arises, who is going to decide on such ambiguous technologies in what way. The project CIT-PART studied comparatively the use and impact of participatory technology assessment (pTA) and expert-based technology assessment (TA) in science and technology policy in several EU Member States and organizations such as Austria (AT), Canada (CA), Denmark (DK), the European Commission (EC), Great Britain (GB), The Holy See (VA), Italy (IT), Latvia (LV), The Netherlands (NL), the OECD, Sweden (SE), and Switzerland (CH). (author's abstract)