Karlsruhe Institute of Technology To Support The Bundestag For Another Five Years
The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) with its Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS) has been commissioned to operate the Office for Technology Assessment at the German Bundestag (TAB) for the next five years until 2028. This was decided unanimously by the Committee for Education, Research and Technology Assessment of the German Bundestag at its meeting today (June 21, 2023).
Kai Gehring, Chairman of the Committee for Education, Research and Technology Assessment , said about the recommissioning of KIT : “In the committee, we decided today unanimously to continue the excellent cooperation with the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis for the next five years. The scientists support us members of the Bundestag with their independent expertise and concentrated factual knowledge in recognizing technological developments and innovation potential at an early stage and in weighing up the opportunities and risks. As committee chairman, I am very pleased to continue our successful cooperation, to further develop it in an agile way and to make it usable for our innovation location”.
“Taking responsibility means developing new technologies that we can use to face the major societal challenges — from the climate crisis to the energy and mobility transition to digitization and health issues. It is just as important to investigate the possible effects of these technologies: scientifically sound, independent and in dialogue with society,” says the President of KIT, Professor Holger Hanselka. “Technology assessment is of outstanding importance here, and it is also very important in political consulting. The fact that the KIT has received the order to operate the TAB for another five years is a sign of the outstanding achievements of the researchers at ITAS. With their expertise, they were once again able to assert themselves against strong competitors in a very intensive application process.”
“The trust associated with the decision of the research committee is not least an indication of the visibility and acceptance of the TAB in the entire German Bundestag and beyond in society,” says Professor Armin Grunwald, head of the ITAS and the TAB . “We look forward to presenting agile and forward-looking options for action to Parliament in the future by analyzing current and explosive socio-political and technology-political issues with excellent scientific expertise and in dialogue with politics and society. With our work, we also want to make a contribution to increasing social resilience and thus also support the strengthening of Germany’s innovative power.”
Identify options for action that are tailored to your needs
The Bundestag’s decision to commission KIT again relates to the period from September 1, 2023 to August 31, 2028. During this period, too, the diverse competencies and resources of KIT and ITAS should be used with regard to systemic relationships and technology consequences become. At the same time, the cooperation of the TAB with the two partners IZT – Institute for Future Studies and Technology Assessment gGmbH (Berlin) and VDI/VDE Innovation and Technology GmbH (Berlin) is to be continued.
The TAB will use an expanded and more diverse range of methods, such as digital data analyzes and participatory scenario methods, to identify options for action that are even more tailored for Parliament. The foresight activities with a focus on innovation and transformative resilience will be further expanded and sharpened at the same time. Science communication and public relations work will also be particularly strengthened in order to increase TA visibility inside and outside the Bundestag.
The Office for Technology Assessment at the German Bundestag
The TAB is an independent scientific institution that advises the German Bundestag and its committees on questions of scientific and technical change. Since 1990 the TAB has been operated by the ITAS of the KIT. With its analyzes of new scientific and technological developments and their effects on society, the environment and the economy, the TAB contributes to informed decision-making by those with political responsibility and to the formation of public opinion beyond parliament.
The direct client of the TAB is the Committee for Education, Research and Technology Assessment, which decides on the topics proposed by the specialist committees and parliamentary groups of the German Bundestag in close cooperation with the TAB. It is of great importance that the assignment to carry out the TAB projects and the later acceptance of the reports submitted by the TAB are carried out by consensus of the parliamentary groups.
Digitization, energy, environment, transport and medicine in focus
The TAB studies focus on digitization in society and the economy, critical infrastructure and crisis prevention, areas of application of artificial intelligence, innovative energy sources and environmental technologies, mobility and transport systems, bio and medical technologies. In addition, there are studies on focal points of innovation, on the strengths and weaknesses of Germany as a research location and on current challenges in research and science policy. A team of ten experienced researchers from different disciplines (including engineering, biology, physics, economics, philosophy, political science, sociology, future research) is available at TAB to work on this variety of topics.
The contractual partner of the German Bundestag for the operation of the TAB is the KIT. The annual budget for the TAB is currently around 2.6 million euros; This includes the grants to the cooperation partners of the TAB and the material resources for the assignment of external reports. The TAB is a member of the German-speaking network TA (NTA). As a founding member of the European Parliamentary Technology Assessment Network (EPTA), it also contributes to responsible innovation policy at European level.
Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis at KIT
ITAS, based at KIT, is the leading institute for technology assessment in Germany and worldwide. The institute researches the spectrum of possible consequences of technology and thus contributes to making good use of the potential of progress at an early stage and being able to minimize or avoid risks. The ITAS offers knowledge for action and shows possible solutions for the current global challenges. The addressees of the research results are politics, business and society, the actors who shape scientific and technical progress.