The Swiss Foundation for Technology
Assessment is called
TA-SWISS in its short form. It fulfils its assignment to carry out
technology assessment
in doing studies and participative projects since 1999, according to
the Swiss
federal law, but its history has started in 1992 already.
Switzerland is known for its
direct democracy.
Citizens can participate in decision making with regard to their
individual and
their communal life. However, those who have felt the need for an
institution
carrying out technology assessment (TA) have formed a different
opinion: »In
our developed democracy it is possible to vote on milk prices but ...
not on
the great challenges ... as for instance the adoption (or the
renunciation) of new
technologies«, explains René Longet, a former National assembly member.
It was Longet
who demanded an institutionalised technology assessment in order to
encourage
public debate on science and society, technology and democracy.
In
1991, the Swiss Science and
Technology
Council (SSTC) was granted a mandate to originate a technology
assessment programme
for the years 1992 to 1995. The SSTC was assigned to the Federal
Department of
Home Affairs (Eidgenössisches Departement des Innern, EDI). After
a
successful
test phase, the mandate was extended and became statutory as part of
the Swiss
federal law on scientific research (Schweizerisches Bundesgesetz
über
die
Forschung). Thereby, technology assessment was definitely accepted into
the
scope statement of the SSTC. Another amendment followed in 2007. The
issue of
the administrative affiliation of TA-SWISS was taken up again. As in a
few
other European countries, technology assessment was entrusted to the
academies
of sciences, in this case to the Swiss Academies of Art and Sciences
(Akademien
der Wissenschaften Schweiz). Since January 1, 2008, TA-SWISS has become
a centre
of excellence and an organisation unit of its own within the Swiss
Academies
of Arts and Sciences. This independence has been formally acknowledge
by TA-SWISS becoming a foundation in October 2016. A foundation council
with six members representing the political and academic world is now
responsible for the overall management of TA-SWISS.
TA-SWISS looks back onto an
eventful history –
and has been able to celebrate its 20th anniversary
on October 29,
2012. During these 20 years, it has always been of utmost
importance for
TA to be performed independently of political and economic interests.
This is
still the highest premise today. State funding allows for the basic
financing
of TA-SWISS. Additionally, there is third-party funding by independent
organisations.
In this way, the infrastructure and the personnel of the TA-SWISS
office
comprising five fulltime jobs is financed. Additionally,
project-specific
mandates that are assigned to external interdisciplinary research
groups and
the organisation and execution of participative projects are
remunerated by these
means.
TA-SWISS acts jointly with
renowned national or
international research institutes or specialized departments. The
assignment of
a project to a research group works as follows: The specific TA aspects
are clearly
stated in the call for tender regarding the specific project;
correspondingly,
the received offers are evaluated according to these criteria. The
TA-SWISS
executive committee (TA-SWISS-Leitungsausschuss, LA), composed of
roughly 15
members with totally different professional competences and
institutional
backgrounds, decides whether a project will be carried out as well as
which
offer to accept in the case of a study. A project manager of the
TA-SWISS
office then initializes the project and supervises the commissioned
institution
throughout the whole duration of the project. The final focus of each
project
always emerges through the cooperative work of and the intensive debate
with
all participants. Not only the research group entrusted with the
project, but also
the TA-SWISS office and the monitoring group provide important inputs.
The latter,
consisting of 10 to 20 persons with appropriate professional
competences, is
formed specifically for each project. It reviews the concept, the
intermediate
as well as the final results and thus ensures quality and a
well-balanced
presentation of the subject.
New topics are initialized by
the TA-SWISS
office on the base of a constant monitoring of new scientific and
technological
developments. Suggestions from external experts or from members of the
TA-SWISS
executive committee are also integrated in this systematic survey. In
this way,
subject areas are identified and within these the project managers
develop
concrete proposals for projects. The TA-SWISS executive committee then
decides which
new studies are taken up.
TA-SWISS
deliberately chooses projects that deal with particularly controversial
technologies and
assesses their benefits
and disadvantages comprehensively.
The Centre’s independence ensures
the credibility necessary for this purpose.
TA-SWISS mainly analyses
developments in the fields
of biotechnology, medicine, nanotechnology and communication and
information
technologies. However, the effects of social or cultural complexities
are less
studied and for this reason they have been identified as a new
challenge.
Why technology assessment? This
question was
discussed even before the establishment of TA-SWISS. An instance that
poses
questions on new technologies in an impartial way is vital, and the
following
criteria are still valid today: how do new technologies develop, what
has to be
taken into account, how do they change everyday life in society and how
might
future scenarios look like? Additionally, the public debate needs to be
encouraged today, too.
Politicians and citizens have
to be supported
in their decision making process by comprehensible illustrations and
documentations of facts and circumstances. The results of TA-SWISS
studies
provide the required basics, information and recommendations on
selected
specialist fields. By contrast, the participative proceedings show how
citizens
rate specific future oriented technologies and topics. It reveals the
advantages
and disadvantages they ascribe to a certain technological development
and it
documents the needs of the population, e.g. the need for more
transparent
information or better protection. The discussions show where citizens
see a
need for action. In these projects, citizens are the experts
representing the
population at large. Studies as well as participative methods are
employed by
TA-SWISS in order to give a comprehensive survey of the chances and
risks of
new technologies and to favour a knowledge-based technology debate.
As the term »studies«
anticipates: Studies are
often very extensive and complex. Therefore, TA-SWISS prepares abridged
versions of its technology assessment studies. The easily
understandable
abbreviated versions are essential in communicating the results to
politicians
and to an interested population. For the participative projects
information
brochures are first compiled. These brochures brief the citizens
involved in a
well-balanced way in order to familiarize them with the technological
topic
that is to be discussed in the citizen debate. A synthesis report will
then be
issued on the actual discussions. It will not only contain the results,
but
also the different chains of reasoning showing what was supported and
what was
criticized by the citizens and why. All these products are important
for the
realization of the formulated objectives: to support the public debate
and to
help politicians and citizens in making knowledge-based decisions.
Extensive public relation
efforts are vital to
reach these target groups. TA-SWISS organises media conferences or
publishes
articles to draw attention to its projects. Policy makers as well as
the interested
public receive printed and electronic newsletters and are invited to
public
presentations, workshops and debates on a regular basis. Politicians
are
confronted with the projects in personal dialogues and in discussions,
and
political groups, administrative authorities and expert groups are
addressed by
presentations and provided with written information material.
In the past few years TA-SWISS has focused on
the following subjects:
Biotechnology and medicine:
Mobility, energy, climate:
Information society:
Nanotechnologies:
Social and cultural TA:
Indicators – emergence and use in politics
As of 2017 TA-SWISS is treating or initializing
the following topics:
The recommendations
resulting from TA projects are intended to be used by parliament and
the
Federal council as an aid for decision making – especially when
controversial
technology topics are being discussed. In addition, the project results
are
communicated to interested politicians, to experts in the fields of
science and
administration, as well as to the media and interested citizens.
Political
decision-makers rely on assessments which show the consequences and social
impact of technologies. The work of TA-SWISS is widely recognized for its
quality and the impartiality of its assessments. It is vital for TA-SWISS to
continually strive for these qualities in order to maintain support from all
political parties.
TA-SWISS
Swiss Foundation for Technology Assessment
Brunngasse 36
3011 Berne
Switzerland
Director: Dr. Sergio Bellucci
Fon +41 31 310 99 60
Fax +41 31 310 99 61
