Österreichische Technologiepolitik auf dem Prüfstand

Abstract: Technology policy has developed into one of the most prominent political agendas in advanced industrial societies, promising to overcome their structural economic crisis and to maintain their high standard of living. In this paper we discuss the Austrian "state of the art" of technology policy. We describe the specific economic and political conditions as well as the new challenges technology policy has had to face in Austria. We give an overview of the development of strategies, organizational structures, resources, and instruments of Austrian technology policy. We find that steps have been taken towards the formulation of an integrated strategy which also considers the social and ecological impact of new technologies. The evaluation of measures and outcomes, on the other hand, provides evidence that implementation remains far behind. In order to realize its ambitious goals and effectively incorporate social and ecological concerns, the political process will have to be opened for new groups and made more responsive to the interests of consumers and users of new technologies.;