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Technology foresight and governance challenges: emergency preparedness and risk management.

06 March 2023, 5:00 pm–6:30 pm

A styalised cross section of a human head in blue outline is set on top of a background of computer circuits and chips

How can we prepare for possible future developments in science and tech? Dr Van Woensel joins us for a lecture on technology foresight.

This event is free.

Event Information

Open to

All

Availability

Yes

Cost

Free

Organiser

Valentina Amuso

Location

Leolin Price Lecture Theatre
Institute of Child Health
30 Guildford Street
London
WC1N 1EH

Dr Van Woensel will teach the main principles of technology foresight. She will focus on how to be prepared for possible future developments in the areas of science and technology. She will guide the participants along four main foundations of foresight thinking, which she advocates as essential good thinking habits for strategic management as well as for policy preparation and even for emergency preparedness. She considers foresight thinking as an effective way to avoid surprises, especially negative ones.

The four essential thinking habits in strategic and technology foresight as recommended by Lieve are as follows: (i) exploring the ecosystem of the technology or other subject of investigation; (ii) exploring issues from a 360-degree perspective; (iii) being aware of and countering possible biases, including the analysts’ biases as well as the stakeholders’ biases; and (iv) assessing conclusions in the light of possible unintended effects.

During the lecture, Lieve will touch upon varied cases, including technology related, security related and geopolitical issues, and she will refer to global risks and polycrises.



The lecture is co-sponsored by UCL Global Governance Institute, the UCL Department of Political Science and our Politics and International Relations BSc and International Public Policy MSc programmes. It will be of broader interest to our community. All UCL staff and students are welcome to attend.



The Global Governance Institute (with red highlights) and UCL Department of Political Science (in blue) logos appear side by side

About the Speaker

Dr Lieve Van Woensel

Dr Lieve Van Woensel is a foresight expert, heading the Scientific Foresight Service within the European Parliamentary Research Service until her retirement in 2023. She is an expert in foresight methodologies and authored a book on biases in the policy advising process, “A Bias Radar for Responsible Policy-Making – Foresight-Based Scientific Advice”, published by Palgrave. She also prepared a manual with guidelines for foresight-based policy analysis. This serves as a handbook for training on foresight within the European Parliament and other EU institutions. These guidelines are available in various languages on the website of the European Parliament.

Lieve started working at the European Parliament in 2012 and, on the whole, has worked for more than 30 years at the science-policy interface.