Technology assessment in innovation systems

This chapter provides an insight into innovation systems and TA from an economic perspective. Beyond the differentiation of technological, spatial, entrepreneurial and systemic aspects, it emphasizes the non-neutrality of technology and takes a stakeholder perspective, including the private and public sectors and society. Governments and coordinated efforts play a crucial role, and regulatory learning in systems contexts becomes increasingly important. The focus on the role of innovation in welfare and the specific characteristics of “ideas” as essential sources of knowledge creation underscore the need for enabling conditions, making them a key aspect of policy. The evolving narrative today extends the scope of government activity beyond that of a mere facilitator to that of a learning actor, operating in globalized contexts and dealing with global coordination needs, multiple crises, designing regulations to anticipate negative impacts of technological development. This essentially requires “smart regulation”.