Topic Key Technologies and Innovation Processes
The research work of the topic focuses on new scientific-technological developments which are considered to have a significant potential to both change existing technological, economic and social structures and contribute to achieving important goals of society. Those technologies, often also called key technologies, are analysed with regard to the conditions in which they are developed and the intended and unintended impacts of their application. In this context we refer to an understanding of research and technology development as a social process. From this point of view, scientific-technological developments, products and techniques do not originate on their own but are the result of numerous interactions between various parties (researchers and developers, entrepreneurs, users, political decision-maker and the public) who co-operate and exert influence in varying constellations during the different phases of the innovation process. Both real and anticipated impacts of technology can become problematic at every single stage of technology development, can create a demand for strategic knowledge and options of action and influence the decisions of the actors.
Therefore the research questions of the topic stand in the tradition of problem-oriented research and focus primarily on the investigation of:
- Structural patterns of and parameters influencing the course of innovations, both regarding their relation to the impacts of technology and as a separate subject of analysis,
- societal processes of formation and design of new technologies including the role of visionary ideas of technology,
- individual factors of perception, evaluation and decision regarding scientific-technological innovations,
- ethical reflections on concrete applications,
- interrelations between technological inventions and societal innovation processes (especially with regard to non-economic, i.e. cultural or social, factors) and
- questions on the methods of early detection of technology impacts.
The scientific results shall be relevant for technology assessment, technology foresight, innovation research as well as socio-scientific technology research and shall be applied to the respective discourses.
The questions arising from the research tasks are investigated in three subtopics:
Nanotechnologies and new materials
