TY - JOUR
T1 - The tentative governance of emerging science and technology
T2 - A conceptual introduction
AU - Kuhlmann, Stefan
AU - Stegmaier, Peter
AU - Konrad, Kornelia
N1 - Special Section on “Focusing on a moving target—the tentative governance of emerging science and technology”, edited by Stefan Kuhlmann, Peter Stegmaier, and Kornelia Konrad
PY - 2019/6
Y1 - 2019/6
N2 - This conceptual introduction to the Special Section examines different modes of ‘tentative governance’ of Emerging Science and Technology (EST). The notion of tentative governance appears particularly relevant in the case of EST, given all the uncertainties and dynamics related to the scientific base, technologies, possible innovations, societal benefits and potential risks. While one may argue that such uncertainties are not peculiar to EST, it is nevertheless apparent that in industry, society and public policy the level of awareness of these uncertainties has increased, largely as a result of experiences with former emerging technologies (e.g. genetically modified organisms, nuclear technology). Governance is ‘tentative’ when public and private interventions are designed as a dynamic process that is prudent and preliminary rather than assertive and persistent. Tentative governance typically aims at creating spaces for probing and learning instead of stipulating definitive targets. The paper suggests a heuristic to position and relate the contributions to this Special Section. One main finding emerging from those contributions is that the inherent contingency of EST requires rather tentative approaches to governance, though often in combination with more definitive modes of governance, with the exact mixture involving a balancing act.
AB - This conceptual introduction to the Special Section examines different modes of ‘tentative governance’ of Emerging Science and Technology (EST). The notion of tentative governance appears particularly relevant in the case of EST, given all the uncertainties and dynamics related to the scientific base, technologies, possible innovations, societal benefits and potential risks. While one may argue that such uncertainties are not peculiar to EST, it is nevertheless apparent that in industry, society and public policy the level of awareness of these uncertainties has increased, largely as a result of experiences with former emerging technologies (e.g. genetically modified organisms, nuclear technology). Governance is ‘tentative’ when public and private interventions are designed as a dynamic process that is prudent and preliminary rather than assertive and persistent. Tentative governance typically aims at creating spaces for probing and learning instead of stipulating definitive targets. The paper suggests a heuristic to position and relate the contributions to this Special Section. One main finding emerging from those contributions is that the inherent contingency of EST requires rather tentative approaches to governance, though often in combination with more definitive modes of governance, with the exact mixture involving a balancing act.
KW - Emerging science and technology
KW - Tentative governance
KW - Experimentation
KW - Technology governance
KW - Policy learning
KW - Policy analysis
U2 - 10.1016/j.respol.2019.01.006
DO - 10.1016/j.respol.2019.01.006
M3 - Article
VL - 48
SP - 1091
EP - 1097
JO - Research policy
JF - Research policy
SN - 0048-7333
IS - 5
ER -