The Defence Science & Technology Group (DSTG) has recently established a dedicated Socio-Technical Futures Analysis effort to contribute to its Critical Technology Foresight capability in collaboration with the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet’s Critical Technology Policy Coordination Office (CTPCO), specifically focused on the assessment of the societal implications of emerging and potentially disruptive technologies.
Grant Scheme
DSTG will operate a targeted research and publication scheme with a view toward funding externally publishable socio-technical research. The preferred output is a scholarly journal article suitable for external publication in a reputable outlet. Other output formats, such as internal reports, tools and so on, will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Projects must be achievable within a maximum rough magnitude of $75,000.
Topics
- Concepts and theories that integrate or otherwise account for the interplay between emerging and potentially disruptive technologies and society;
- Comparative analysis of the consideration of social factors in international approaches to critical technology foresight;
- Analytical models for assessing the societal impact of emerging and potentially disruptive technologies;
- Methodologies for designing, developing and deploying technologies in a socially-responsible manner;
- Social analysis of technological convergence; and
- The role of technology in preserving social cohesion in times of insecurity.
Capability Call
DST is conducting outreach within the academic and think-tank communities to establish the level of available expertise at the intersection of people, technology and society, as assessed against Australia’s Critical Technology List.
This is intended to capture those working in the humanities and social sciences, as well as those with appropriate socially-focused backgrounds in business, law and science/engineering fields. They are collecting this information principally for knowledge exchange purposes as well as for identifying potential candidates for future funding opportunities and invitations to upcoming Defence Science & Technology Group workshops, symposiums and conferences. See attached form to fill in.
Application process
DSTG requests that parties interested in projects in line with any of the above Socio-Technical Futures Analysis Research Focus Areas complete the form below as an expression of interest by no later than 30 September 2022.
