Methodologies and Tools for Technology Needs Assessment: an Overview

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Methodologies and Tools for Technology Needs
Assessment an Overview

• Zou Ji
• Dept. of environmental Economics and Management,
  Renmin University of China
• zoujit_at_public.bta.net.cn

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Technology needs assessment (TNA) in the overall
process of TT

• Establish partnership between stakeholders by
  specific institutional arrangement
• Assess technology needs identify alternative
  technology options and prioritize technology
  needs
• Design, implement, evaluate, and refine action
  plans for TT
• Dissemination of technology information
• Technologies are in place and recipients can
  understand and utilize them.

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Process of TNA Models Identified

• CTI Model
• UNEP Model
• UNCSD Model

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Process of TNA CTI Model (1)

• Establish Criteria for Selecting Technology
  Transfer Priorities
• Define Priority Sectors and Sub-Sectors
• Compile and Supplement Technology and Market
  Information
• Select Priority Technologies

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Process of TNA CTI Model (2)

• Further Technology Barrier Assessment
  Stakeholder Consultations
• Define Alternative Actions
• Select Actions
• Prepare Needs Assessment Report

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Process of TNA UNEP Models (1)

• Features of Environmental Technology Assessment
  (EnTA)
• delivery of information that helps those involved
  with technological developments to determine
  their strategic policy
• Informal and flexible
• serving for a strategic level of decision making
• Providing for well informed policy choices which
  direct and guide selection, adoption,
  implementation and use of technologies.

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Process of TNA UNEP Models (2)

• Process
• 1. Examine the reason for the proposed technology
• 2.Identification of other guideline documents
  (PoliciesPlans, and legislation)
• 3.Technology alternatives (Possible modification
  and possible alternative system to achieve )

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Process of TNA UNEP Models (3)

• 4. Investigation and evaluation of technology
  effectiveness
• (1) Technology cycle(2) Material and energy(3)
  Toxicity of material used (4)Waste(5) Effluent
  discharges (6) Atmospheric emissions (7) Global
  concerns (8)Health and safety (9)Operational
  efficiency (10) Financial efficiency(11)Social
  efficiency
• (12) Institutional capacity.

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Process of TNA UNEP Models (4)

• 5. Identify decision makers and processes
• 6. Identification of potential impact
• 7. Evaluation of Impacts
• 8. Policy generation
• 9.Implementation of follow up

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Process of TNA UNCSD Models (1)

• Definition A National Needs Assessment (NNA) is
  a tool for the government or other national
  stakeholders of a developing country (designated
  as the 'host country') to define a portfolio of
  capacity building actions and technology transfer
  projects to be undertaken to facilitate, and
  possibly accelerate, the development, adoption
  and implementation of Environmentally Sound
  Technologies (ESTs).

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Process of TNA UNCSD Models (2)

• Three phases
• Phase I Creating an enabling environment
• awareness raising and communication with
  stakeholders, and/or execution of pilot projects
  regarding transfer of ESTs and
• defining the NNA-project (problem definition in
  order to set objectives, define participation of
  stakeholders, develop the organizational
  framework and raise necessary funds)

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Process of TNA UNCSD Models (3)

• Phase II
• Assessing capacity building needs Actual
  execution of the assessment tasks through
• data analysis
• consultation of national stakeholders
• resulting in a portfolio of prioritized capacity
  building actions and technology transfer projects.

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Process of TNA UNCSD Models (4)

• Phase III Implementation of the portfolio of
  prioritized capacity building actions.
• the application of ESTs
• the definition and implementation of technology
  transfer projects regarding ESTsand
• an ongoing dialogue among national stakeholders,
  government and financing institutions regarding
  the implementation of ESTs.

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General Process of TNA (1)

• 1. Establish criteria for evaluation of
  technology by integration of core social and
  economic goals
• 2. Identify different options of technologies
• 3. Describe characteristics of different
  technologies and evaluate them with the above
  criteria

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General Process of TNA (2)

• 4. Express opinions of different stakeholders on
  technology preferences and synthesize these
  opinions
• 5. Rank/prioritize technology needs
• 6. Summarize and report the results of
  assessment and
• 7. Set up link with follow-up activities (design
  and execution and action plan).

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Criteria for selecting prioritized technology

• Environmental concern global and local
• Technological concern (penetration, reliability,
  easiness, and replication, etc)
• Economic concern (IRR, payback period, abatement
  and transaction costs)
• Social concern (equity and employment)

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Analytical Tools for Decision Making

• Analytic hierarchy process (AHP)
• Existing-information based approach
• Cost-benefit analysis
• Cost-effectiveness analysis
• Decision analysis
• Risk-benefit analysis

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Infrastructure for TNA

• Institutional arrangement to ensure the effective
  participation and cooperation of different
  stakeholders
• Reliable and available information sources and
  management
• Adequate expertise of investigators and
  investigated experts and
• Necessary resources to implement activities for
  TNA

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Barriers/challenges to TNA (1)

• How to identify the right experts and stakeholder
  representatives to be in the survey sample and
  what is the appropriate scale of the sample?
• Weak awareness of climate and the normal
  environment and thus low rate of reply to
  questionnaire
• Limitation of knowledge background across sectors
  of the investigated experts from specific sectors

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Barriers/challenges to TNA (2)

• Determine the appropriate scale of survey sample.
  
• Failure in consistency test for significant
  amount of experts
• How to ensure that no significant technologies
  are missed in the set of candidate technologies
  and keep the list of candidate technologies
  updated?

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Barriers/challenges to TNA (3)

• Difficult to get reliable data and information
• lack of regular mechanism to keep the process of
  technology needs assessment continuous and
  iterative
• institutional division between different
  government agencies and different administrative
  areas like provinces

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Barriers/challenges to TNA (4)

• Link between technology need assessment and
  national medium and long term plan for social and
  economic development and RD strategies is not
  very close sometimes
• The limitation of funding for conducting survey
  in a larger scale of sample and in a
  dynamic/iterative manner.

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Conclusions and Recommendations (1)

• Technology needs assessment is fundamental for
  the achievement of successful technology
  transfer.
• Governments should play an important role in
  coordinating and guiding technology needs
  assessment among different stakeholders, and in
  creating other enabling environment for
  technology needs assessment.
• No one-size-fits-all approach for TNA

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Conclusions and Recommendations (2)

• A regular mechanism is needed for assessing
  dynamic needs for EST of developing countries
• Active and broad participation of stakeholders
  are important
• Several methodologies and tools have been
  available and need to be improved and synthesized
  as favorable starting points

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Conclusions and Recommendations (3)

• A close link should be made between TNA and
  national social, economic, and technological
  strategies and policies
• More description of the approach for adaptation
  technologies and the possible development of a
  simplified user manual are needed

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Conclusions and Recommendations (4)

• There are some potential barriers in both
  institutional and technical terms to implement
  technology needs assessment successfully and
  measures should be taken to overcome these
  barriers.
• Technical and financial assistance from developed
  countries are crucial to implement technology
  needs assessment in developing countries.