Institutional options and operational issues in technology assessment: Lessons from experiences in the United States and Europe

This paper illuminates widening variety of technology assessment (TA) activities by parliamentary organizations and other bodies in the United States and Europe. It also illustrates a range of institutional options for TA from the view of its key elements, and examines the operational issues. Based on extensive interviews with TA practitioners and other related actors, we identified the recent direction of TA activities and provide discussion materials for states and regions in which there is a growing concern about the institutionalization of TA functions.