Julia Hahn
MA, Research Fellow, Institute of Technology
Assessment and Systems Analysis,
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology,
Postfach 3640, 76021 Karlsruhe, Germany;
e-mail: julia.hahn@kit.edu

Christina Merz
MA, Research Fellow, Institute of Technology
Assessment and Systems Analysis,
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Postfach 3640,
76021 Karlsruhe, Germany;
e-mail: christina.merz@kit.edu

Constanze Scherz
Research Fellow. Institute of Technology
Assessment and Systems Analysis,
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Postfach 3640,
76021 Karlsruhe, Germany;
e-mail: scherz@kit.edu

с We sketch a brief history of TA which is closely linked to its ‘invention’ as a policy consulting method. On the basis of two examples (Office for Technology Assessment in the USA and Office for Technology Assessment at the German Bundestag in Germany), we will give insights into the heterogeneous political and societal conditions under which TA institutions have been established in the past. After this, we reflect on formats, methods and practices that can help further develop TA as we follow the underlying hypothesis of TA as an approach that has to continuously change and adapt. Thereby, the concept of conferences can be fruitful for the TA community to stay vivid in a continuously changing environment