Technological Impact Assessment: A Framework for Designing a TIA Project Method

Technology Assessment (TA) is a term of long standing for a process that examines consequences of the application of a particular technology. The scope and scale of technological impacts have greatly increased over the last six decades; but TA has ossified. An alternative term, Technological Impact Assessment (TIA), is used for processes that adopt broad, open and balanced approaches. TIA is far more challenging than other related techniques, such as the financial evaluation of proposed projects, privacy impact assessment, regulatory impact assessment and even environmental impact assessment. The enormous diversity of technologies, cultural contexts and drivers makes it infeasible to specify a generic project method that will serve all needs. This article identifies and discusses the key dimensions of those challenges. A framework is presented that is designed to support those who plan and conduct TIAs of all kinds. A simple worked example is provided.