TECHNOLOGY

MANAGEMENT
Topic
Assessment & Selection of Technology
Technology assessment
• It is a scientific, interactive, and communicative process
that aims to contribute to the formation of public and
political opinion on societal aspects of science and
technology.
CONCEPT OF TECHNOLOGY
ASSESSMENT
• Problem definition and structuring
1

• Analysis and estimation of consequences

2

• Assessment
3

• Decision
4
Methodology
• Many objectives are to be considered
• Different assessment scales emerge
• Objectives are weighted differently
• Information is at least partially uncertain
• The problem is time dependent
• Many are to participate in the decision-making process
• No unique benchmark exists for decision making
Examples of assessment

• Software
• Hardware
(health, Defense, Armed forces, science, education,
manufacturing, food industry, transportation)
• Environment
(natural effects)
Negative aspects
• most technology assessments are neither objective nor value-
neutral exercises but instead are greatly influenced and biased
by the values of the most powerful stakeholders, which are in
many cases the developers and proponents (i.e., corporations
and governments) of new technologies under consideration.
Forms and concept of Technology Assessment

• Parliamentary TA (PTA)
TA activities of various kinds whose addressee is a parliament.
PTA may be performed directly by members of those parliaments
(e.g. in France and Finland)

• Expert TA
TA activities carried out by (a team of) TA and technical experts.
Input from stakeholders and other actors is included only via
written statements, documents and interviews, but not as in
participatory TA.
Forms and concept of Technology Assessment

• Participatory TA
TA activities which actively, systematically and methodologically
involve various kinds of social actors as assessors and
discussants, such as different kinds of civil society organizations
• Constructive TA
This concept of TA, developed in the Netherlands, but also
applied and discussed elsewhere attempts to broaden the design
of new technology through feedback of TA activities into the
actual construction of technology.
Forms and concept of Technology Assessment

• Health TA
A specialized type of expert TA informing policy makers about
efficacy, safety and cost effectiveness issues of pharmaceuticals
and medical treatments
Technology selection

• Suited to the needs of your organization.

• Easy to support.
• Well-documented.
• Cost-effective to operate.
• Secure.
• High-performance.
• Reliable.
Steps of Selecting a Technology