ResIST Work Package 3 Articulating New Accountability Systems

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ResIST Work Package 3Articulating New
Accountability Systems

• Steve Woolgar
• Daniel Neyland
• Peter Healey
• João Arriscado Nunes
• Marisa Matias
• Ana Raquel Matos
• Daniel Neves
• Rob Hagendijk

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Accountability

• A popular buzz word
• Fundamental aspect of social life
• Used across institution al domains (political,
  legal, fiscal, social, public)
• Accountability in, of and for public
• Beyond promoting public participation as a form
  of political marketing of science and technology

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WP3 Goals assumptions

• To identify and analyse (emerging) accountability
  systems that provide for the explicit stating and
  framing of distributional issues of scientific
  and technological change.
• Systems of accountability are the means by which
  the (potential) distributional consequences of
  science and technology policy can be assessed and
  incorporated by the formal political system.
• Accountability systems attuned to the needs of
  the disadvantaged are prerequisite for
  reorienting scientific governance towards greater
  social inclusion.

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Tasks

• Develop an integrated framework for analyzing and
  evaluating experiences with innovative approaches
  to accountability.
• Analyse accountability systems in mundane
  technological practices and development
• Study experiments with capacity building and
  priority setting

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Formats of accountability

• Face to face accountabiliy
• Directive accountability
• Demonstrative accountability
• Participatory accountability

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Accountability mechanisms Case Studies

• Textiles- Fair Trade ?Certification
• E-waste ? Audit trail
• Vaccins ?Partnership agreements

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Accountability mechanisms Case Studies II

• Municipal development planning ?Participarory
  Budgetting
• Health municipal councils ? public health,
  fighting endemic diseases and environmental
  safety

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Distributional inqualities and accountability -
Conclusions

• A broader conception of accountability allows the
  study of how distributional effects of new
  technology can be better analysed and handled
• Identify accountability mechanisms, their
  combinations and their sometimes perverse-
  effects
• Be attentive to transnational issues and
  connections
• Study indicators, document trails and accounts
  Intimate connections exist between the
  accountability systems created and the
  redefinition of the problems, their handling and
  their consequences (ontological politics)
• The importance of inclusion, participation and
  rights to address inequality in technology
  development and its consequences