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  • 24-April-2024

    English

    Framework for Anticipatory Governance of Emerging Technologies

    Emerging technologies can contribute to unprecedented gains in health, energy, climate, food systems, and biodiversity. However, these technologies and their convergence sometimes carry risks to privacy, security, equity and human rights. This dual-edged nature of emerging technology requires policies that better anticipate disruptions and enable technology development for economic prosperity, resilience, security and sustainable development. Drawing on prior OECD work and legal instruments, this framework equips governments, other innovation actors and societies to anticipate and get ahead of governance challenges, and build longer-term capacities to shape innovation more effectively. Its 'anticipatory technology governance' approach consists of five interdependent elements and associated governance tools: (1) embeding values throughout the innovation process; (2) enhancing foresight and technology assessment; (3) engaging stakeholders and society; (4) building regulation that is agile and adaptive; and (5) reinforcing international cooperation in science and norm-making. The emerging technology context determines how each of these elements is applied.

  • 23-April-2024

    English, PDF, 2,793kb

    Neurotechnology toolkit

    This toolkit aims to support policymakers in implementing the OECD Recommendation on Responsible Innovation in Neurotechnology.

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  • 30-November-2023

    English

    Carbon Management: Bioeconomy and Beyond

    The bioeconomy brings opportunities for economic growth while tackling climate change. Fossil carbon resources can be replaced by bio-based carbon resources, especially biomass. To allow these solutions to be scaled up without threats to biodiversity and the environment, it is necessary to develop the bioeconomy as a circular economy. With this carbon management approach, other sources of carbon complement biomass: industrial waste, including gases such as CO and CO2, as well as physically and chemically recycled carbon. In the future, direct air capture (DAC) may become competitive and form part of the solution. These approaches can be considered ‘circular’ because they close material loops and keep carbon recycling in the economy rather than emitting carbon to the atmosphere. This report reviews a number of hybrid technologies that can be deployed to ‘defossilise’ economic sectors and sets out policy options to bring these technologies to commercial scale.

  • 8-November-2023

    English

    Key nanotechnology indicators

    Indicators include nanotech firms, nanotech R&D, public sector R&D expenditure and nanotechnology patents.

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  • 8-November-2023

    English

    Key biotechnology indicators

    Statistics on biotechnology firms, biotechnology R&D (including public sector expenditures), biotech applications and patents.

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  • 31-May-2023

    English, PDF, 682kb

    Technology deep dives: Synthetic biology (policy brief)

    From alternative protein sources to rapid vaccine development, synthetic biology can address global challenges and transform industries. But are current governance frameworks up to the task?

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  • 26-April-2023

    English

    Technology assessment for emerging technology - Meeting new demands for strategic intelligence

    The rapid pace of technological change, coupled with a pressing need for solutions to address grand societal challenges and global crises, heightens the challenge for policy makers to develop science, technology and innovation policies at speed, in situations of high uncertainty and, in some cases, around potentially controversial technology fields. Technology assessment (TA) has a long history of providing decision-makers with timely strategic intelligence on emerging technologies. Current demands are pushing TA to evolve in order to fulfil diverse functions: to illuminate the societal, economic, environmental and other consequences of new technologies; to inform public opinion; and to guide research and development. Drawing on nine case studies, this report analyses the response of TA practices to these changing drivers and demands to support policies for new and emerging technologies. It also identifies a set of principles to guide good contemporary TA practice.

  • 12-April-2022

    English

    Brain-computer interfaces and the governance system - Upstream approaches

    Brain-computer interface (BCI) systems are in a period of rapid development and offer significant potential for the promotion of health and well-being. At the same time, they raise a range of unique ethical, legal, and policy questions, and few BCI-specific rules exist in a fragmented regulatory landscape. This report aims to help develop a responsible and anticipatory governance approach to promote innovation while shaping the trajectory of technology through a set of mechanisms, including (i) soft law, (ii) standardisation and ethics-by-design approaches, (iii) corporate self-governance, and (iv) participatory experiments for upstream governance.

  • 6-December-2021

    English

    Technology in and for society: Innovating well for inclusive transitions

    This conference on 6-7 December seeks to develop a policy agenda to pair the transformative potential of emerging technology with the necessity of good governance: how we can innovate more and innovate better, i.e. within inclusive processes with values at the centre and lasting positive impact.

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  • 9-November-2021

    English

    Neurotechnologies and human rights framework: Do we need new rights?

    Major breakthroughs in neurotechnology have the potential to advance biomedicine and healthcare, but uncertainty exists about the impact and direction of these developments. This round table on 9 November, co-organised by the Council of Europe, will discuss human rights issues raised by the applications of neurotechnologies.

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