From 25.07. - 27.07.2022 the fifth European TA Conference has taken place in Karlsruhe. Before the conference started, we invited interested participants to a pre-event on 24.07.2022 at ITAS. The focus was on the (digital) platformisation of science and society.

Networks and digital platforms play an increasingly important role in our society. We all know sociotechnological innovations like social media, on-demand services for shopping or car trips as well as the clustering of supply chains. Some would say, we are living in the age of platformisation. Furthermore, platformisation processes affect scientific research – especially TA – in many ways.

As we explored in the openTA event on July 24, research subjects are changing: With platformisation, new research topics for TA emerge and existing topics shift their focus. Which influence do big tech companies have? What narratives and visions of the future are transfered by platform operators and users? Or also: what questions of privacy and justice do we have to consider?

Furthermore, the research landscape is changing: On the one hand, the connection of institutions and researchers as well as the availability of data is becoming increasingly important. On the other hand, TA should focus on formal and informal networks, for example at the political level. Issues of platformisation are also taken up by funding agencies. This includes new research questions as well as the use of data repositories. Last but not least, everyday research is changing: Scientists transfer their research with specific stakeholders and the public by using various platforms, discuss and share knowledge on research platforms (such as ResearchGate) or exchange TA-relevant information with the help of specialist portals – such as openta.net. The focus is on gaining knowledge, the success of research projects, but also on their own careers.

Against this background, we discussed with representatives of technology assessment the needs
and questions within their research activities and how openTA can support them.