Comparative Table of Parliamentary TA Institutions
Communication and Publications
As mentioned, its reports are not published; rather, they are
distributed, unless the scientific and technical institution that
prepared them undertakes the task of publishing them. Along these
lines, the Catalan Foundation for Research and Innovation published its
report on nanotechnology which can be viewed at the following link: www.fcri.es/descarregues/2009_8_7_informe_nanotech_cata_la.pdf
DBT communicates and co-operates directly with the relevant
parliamentary committees who seek advice on examining a specific
subject. This advice can consist of answering specific questions from
members of parliament, making information meetings for committees,
arranging hearings for parliamentary committees, or providing an issue
of the briefing note "From the Board to the Parliament".
DBT issues a range of publications with a view to stimulating debate on
technology among them reports, books, newsletters, booklets and
pamphlets. The e-magazine TeknologiDebat contains news stories,
background information, articles and debates, all primarily related to
the projects of DBT.
The website www.tekno.dk
is a very important communication tool for DBT. It has around 1 million
visits a year and some publications are downloaded at figures exceeding
250.000. The website delivers all publications of DBT, pages on all
projects, podcasts from conferences, hearings, workshops etc., and a
web-version of the eMagazine TeknologiDebat.
For each project, STOA produces several reports:
- Full study
- Options Brief, summarising assessed policy options (2-4 pages)
- Layman's summary, presenting the study and its findings in a concise way for the non-experts.
In addition, STOA also produces reports following its events and an
Annual Report highlighting the achievements in the preceding year.
Interested parties can subscribe to our newsletter by sending us an
e-mail to stoa@europarl.europa.eu.
STOA is increasingly relying on new media for reaching its target groups. It regularly publishes blog posts
announcing its events and reporting on news, projects and workshops.
Video clips presenting outcomes of the projects are produced and
uploaded on STOA's YouTube channel, summarising the work of STOA in an easily accessible way. Our events are regularly supported by live tweeting, enabling the dissemination to and the dialogue with the wider community.
Follow STOA via:
STOA website: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/stoa/
EPRS blog: http://epthinktank.eu/stoablogger
EPRS Twitter: https://twitter.com/ep_thinktank
EPRS LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/5184534?trk=hp-feed-company-name
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/MySTOA
See
before. All reports are published in Internet and most of them also as
books, especially those which are handled in the plenary session.
Social media will be used in a totally new way during this period.
Over
the years, the IST has developed various communication products,
including an electronic newsletter (e-zine), custom made publications
(reports, dossiers, recommendations and facts in a nutshell), and the
web site: www.samenlevingentechnologie.be
OPECST reports are published. A summary of 4 pages is usually also
available. All its publications and the videos of its public hearings
are posted on the National Assembly web site, section OPECST.
The results of the TA projects
and other TAB work are documented and made available as TAB working
reports and background and discussion papers. Selected reports are
issued as printed papers of German Bundestagt (Bundestagsdrucksache).
Since 1996, selected final reports on TA projects have appeared in the
series "Studies by the Office of Technology Assessment at German
Bundestag", published by edition sigma, Berlin.
TAB and its current information are also accessible on the Internet (www.tab-beim-bundestag.de)
and on the German Bundestag intranet. The TAB letter appears twice a
year, and contains primarily information on the TAB working programme
and reports on the findings of TAB projects and monitoring activities.
Every
report and its outcomes together with the relevant supporting documents
are kept in the archives of the committee and deposited at the end of
each parliamentary year in the Archives of the Parliament. Those
documents are available to the public through the website of the
Hellenic Parliament (only in Greek).
The Rathenau Instituut publishes scientific
reports, background studies and Research Briefs to provide politicians and
policymakers with reliable, relevant and up to date information. For a quick
overview, we gather experts’ visions around a topical theme in collections of
essays. In our twopage Research Briefs, we provide tailor-made analyses and
policy recommendations.
The institute uses a wide range of interactive
communications tools to disseminate its findings, such as expert meetings,
public debates, talk shows, events and forum discussions to promote interaction
with citizens, policymakers, politicians and other parties. The aim here is the
exchange of thoughts or to initiation of a debate to get the images, visions
and standpoints of participants out into the open.
The Board focuses strongly on disseminating its
projects and results. Most projects are concluded with a proposal to the
Parliament. The NBT’s 4-page publication summarizes the project and gives clear
recommendations on the subject. We also meet with the relevant standing
committee and present the project and its results.
The Board publishes reports on most projects.
All publications are free and available for download on our webpage. We
communicate broadly in several channels. In addition to reports and other
printed material we actively use internet as a communication channel.
Information on all projects is presented on our website, and we use different
social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo and Slideshare. We have also made
several exhibitions. The latest, "The Future of Ageing", has travel around
Norway since 2009.
As partner in the project "Kunnskap kryssar
grenser" ("Knowledge across borders"), all our open meetings and seminars are
broadcast online. This ensures both lower emissions (people don’t have to
travel to Oslo to participate) and that people all over the country (and the
world) can see the presentations of our projects.
The reports are published in the Riksdag Report Series and can be downloaded from the website (www.riksdagen.se).
Short versions with conclusions of the larger reports are compiled in
Swedish and English. A website has been published on the Riksdag
intranet summarising the work on research and future issues. The
website will also shortly be available on the official Riksdag website www.riksdagen.se.
All results are communicated to the
parliament, the media and the general public by means of a newsletter,
of conferences, public talks, articles or exhibits. In depth
information
on projects and publications is also available on the internet (www.ta-swiss.ch).
Studies and publications, especially the abbreviated versions, are
obtainable at no charge at info@ta-swiss.ch.
The studies on biofuel of the second generation, on
nanotechnology in the field of foods, on anti-aging, the
emancipation of the computer and geolocalization are available at your local book store.
You can also order them at www.vdf.ethz.ch or download them
as an e-book.
Most of POST’s publications take the form of
one of its well-known four-page "POSTnotes". After considerable
experimentation, this format was chosen largely because busy parliamentarians
do not have the time to read lengthier documents. A great deal of effort is put
into compressing information into this limit, and in meeting the challenge of
making a publication at the same time accessible to non-specialists but
commanding the approval of experts in the field. Several other parliamentary TA
units have adopted a similar style of summary as part of their publication
programme – and POSTnotes have even been translated by them for circulation in
their own countries.
POST also produces longer reports. The most
recently published was on "Living with Environmental Limits", while an ongoing
longer report is a "Decadal Review of Stem Cell Research", examining
developments in the area over the past ten years, as recommended by a special
House of Lords committee that reviewed regulatory legislation. Even with these
long reports, one or more "POSTnote" style summaries is produced to make the
key findings accessible to those who cannot examine the main report.
All POST publications are subjected to
extensive external peer review by government departmental, academic, enterprise
and NGO specialists before release. This is a key feature of POST’s publication
process.
Either at the start of a study, during its
course, or after publication, POST frequently organises parliamentary seminars
to discuss its studies. These are complemented by other conferences and
workshops. Recent examples include sessions on the Future of Food and Farming
and on the Implications of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Incident. Both filled some of
the largest meeting rooms in the UK Parliament to capacity.
POST also collaborates with external
organisations to hold interactive exhibitions and presentations at the UK
Parliament. Notable recent events have covered the future of energy research;
robotics futures and polar research.
POST was a founding member of EPTA and has
always enthusiastically participated in its activities. POST has been honoured
to be approached by countries such as Chile, Japan, Norway and Sweden that were
considering creating a parliamentary TA function. POST has also worked closely
with the Science Policy Division of UNESCO in its work programme on Science,
Technology and Parliaments.
All
ITA research reports are available free of charge via the Internet. In
addition, the Institute has published a quarterly newsletter for over
10 years, which is received by several hundred subscribers in Austria
and abroad. With active PR work it is attained that the Institute and
its topics and projects are continuously present in Austria quality
media (press and radio). In addition, the ITA organises regular
conferences and lecture events, and is active on the Internet. The
latter includes not only the Institute´s homepage with extensive
information and download material but also the use of new communication
forms such as microblogging (Twitter), a presence on Web 2.0 platforms
(Facebook, Academia.edu) and in encyclopaedias developed by the online
community (Wikipedia).
The Assembly´s website [http://assembly.coe.int]
gives regular information on the activities of parliamentarians, in
Strasbourg and on the ground. It includes reports, adopted texts,
records of debates and speeches. The plenary sessions are broadcast
live.
BAS
does not publish its TA work in a separate series, TA analyses are
usually included within general BAS publication lines, the main are:
INFOS (short policy briefs) and STUDIA BAS (compilations of research
papers analyzing various aspects of a given topic).
INFOS is a final outcome of a short term project lasting on
average 1 to 3 months. They are concise in form and present a single
topic related to issues of high relevance to parliamentary debate
and/or legislative process. All INFOS papers have standard layout and
stick to four-page format. They are published every two weeks, in
accordance with the schedule of sittings of the Sejm (20-25
titles/issues a year).
The projects undertaken within STUDIA BAS series are more
complex. They involve compiling a book consisting typically of 8-10
research papers devoted to various aspects of a given subject. They are
often devoted to sectoral policies (e.g. energy policy, housing policy)
or thematic clusters (eg. development of information society). Quite
often they adopt comparative approach: comparing relevant data from
different European and other countries. There are four issues yearly.
INFOS and STUDIA BAS series are devoted primarily to
socio-economic issues, hence TA questions - if they are touched upon -
are mostly analyzed in the context of societal and economic impacts.
The authors are both BAS employees and selected external experts from
leading Polish research institutions.
BAS publications come only in Polish (abstracts are available
also in English). INFOS and STUDIA BAS are distributed free of charge
to all MPs; additional copies can be picked-up at the BAS inquiry
office at the Parliament premises. They are also available online at www.bas.sejm.gov.pl
Technology assessments conducted by GAO to date have resulted in written products (www.gao.gov/browse/collection/Technology_Assessment).
These reports may also contain online-only multimedia components, such
as videos/animations or podcasts (for example, the interactive features
and additional materials at www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-71). GAO may also prepare other products, such as congressional testimony, upon request from the U.S. Congress.
(c) EPTA, provided by ITA; version 01/2017