We would like to invite you to take part in the 3rd European TA Conference in Cork, Ireland, May 17th – 19th 2017. The aim of the conference is to discuss how technology assessment and related activities such as science and technology studies, responsible research and innovation (RRI), public engagement, and foresight can strongly contribute to knowledge-based policy-making on science, technology and innovation, to engage policymakers and other stakeholders in this endeavour, and to learn from each other’s perspectives.

Science and technology are central elements in the policy response to the Grand Challenges of our time, such as Health, ageing and wellbeing; Food security, sustainable agriculture, marine and maritime research and the bio-economy; Secure, clean and efficient energy; Smart, green and integrated transport; Climate action, resource efficiency and raw materials; Inclusive, innovative and secure societies. In addition, issues around emerging technologies such as big data, surveillance technologies, synthetic biology, nanotechnology, and the Internet of Things strongly influence the lives of citizens and challenge established policies.

The transformative power of science and technology has to be aligned with society and policymaking. TA, RRI, and foresight can all be seen as initiatives providing robust and independent knowledge-based policy advice on societal topics related to science, technology, and innovation. The knowledge-based policy advising endeavour can only be successful when science and technology advancements are considered in light of societal perspectives and the concerns of policymakers. The 3rd European TA Conference will bring together the different worlds of science, society, and policymaking.

The Cork conference will continue to strengthen the successful tradition of two international TA conferences held in Prague 2013 and in Berlin 2015. These conferences made an important contribution to the main objective of the EU project “Parliaments and Civil Society in Technology Assessment” (PACITA), which was to expand TA across Europe.

The Cork conference is organised by Business Information Systems in University College Cork (Ireland), in collaboration with the Institute of Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis ITAS/KIT (Germany), the Rathenau Instituut (The Netherlands), the TA-SWISS (Switzerland), the Institute of Technology Assessment ITA-ÖAW (Austria), the Technology Centre ASCR (Czech Republic), the Hungarian Academy of Science (Hungary).

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