The Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS) is a research facility of the

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT; ) is both a German public research university in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, and a research center of the Helmholtz Association. KIT was created in 2009 when the University of Karlsruhe (), founde ...

(KIT) in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It was founded on 1 July 1995 as successor of different institutions. ITAS came into being after a merger of the University of Karlsruhe (TH) and Research Center Karlsruhe on 1 October 2009. The institute is also a member of the

Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres The Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres () is the largest scientific organisation in Germany. It is a union of 18 scientific-technical and biological-medical research centers. The official mission of the Association is "solving the g ...

(HGF). ITAS is the largest and longest standing scientific institution in Germany dealing with

technology assessment Technology assessment (TA, , ) is a practical process of determining the value of a new or emerging technology in and of itself or against existing technologies. This is a means of assessing and rating the new technology from the time when it w ...

(TA) and

systems analysis Systems analysis is "the process of studying a procedure or business to identify its goal and purposes and create systems and procedures that will efficiently achieve them". Another view sees systems analysis as a problem-solving technique that ...

in theory and practice. Today, more than 110 researchers work at ITAS. Since 1990 it operates the Office of Technology Assessment at the German

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...

(TAB). Since 1992 it is publishing a journal on technology assessment (Technikfolgenabschätzung – Theorie und Praxis). Since October 1999 it is headed by Armin Grunwald.

Aims and objectives

The Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS) investigates scientific and technological developments with a focus on their impacts and possible systemic and unintended effects. It produces analytical knowledge and assessments of socio-technical developments in order to provide policy and design options for decision-makers. The research covers ethical, ecological, economic, social, political-institutional, and cultural questions. Major goals are advice for research and technology policy, provision of knowledge for the design of socio-technical systems, and the organization and observation of discursive processes on open and controversial questions of technology policy.

Co-operation

ITAS is a member of several international networks. It is one of the initiators of "Netzwerk TA" (NTA), a network of German, Austrian and Swiss TA institutions. It is also member of the

European Parliamentary Technology Assessment The European Parliamentary Technology Assessment (EPTA) is a network of technology assessment (TA) institutions specialising in advising parliamentary bodies in Europe. Objectives The EPTA partners advise parliaments on the possible social, e ...

(EPTA) Network and of the UNEP-SETAC Life Cycle Initiative. In addition, the institute is committed in the Society for the Study of Nanoscience and Emerging Technologies (S.NET) since its foundation, and maintains institutional relationships with the New University of Lisbon, the Lomonossow University in Moscow as well as with the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU).

History

The history of ITAS and its preceding institutions dates back to the 1950s. In 1958 the Study Group for Systems Research (SfS) was founded in Heidelberg by Helmut Krauch. In 1975, a part of the SfS was integrated in the Institute for Applied Systems Engineering and Nuclear Physics (IASR) of Nuclear Research Center Karlsruhe led by Wolf Häfele. In 1977 the division of Applied Systems Analysis (AFAS) is established as an independently operating off-spring of the IASR, which is headed by Herbert Paschen. On 1 July 1995 this unit was upgraded becoming the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis (ITAS).Coenen, R.: The legacy of the Studiengruppe für Systemforschung. Minerva 44(2006)2, S. 143-148

References

External links

Homepage of ITAS

Homepage of „Technikfolgenabschätzung Theorie und Praxis“

Homepage of TAB

Homepage of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

Homepage of Helmholtz Association
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology Research institutes in Germany {{Authority control