Thursday September 9th 2010
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Inter-disciplinary Work Groups
The work group is the Danish Board of Technology’s expert-oriented method. Here, it is the experts who assess a given topic. The Board appoints an inter-disciplinary work group so that assessment is carried out by several specialists with different approaches to the subject. A work group is a kind of commission. The group’s mandate is to describe the project prepared by the Danish Board of Technology. The description creates the framework for the group’s work, but to a certain degree, the group itself can define this framework. The purpose of the methodThe work group often has a dual mandate – partly to take professional stock of the the situation and partly to propose possible courses of action to ensure, initiate, promote or check development in the area. The idea is that the work of the group be rooted in the existing knowledge base – i.e. review as opposed to actual research. The purpose is thus to provide a factual overview of a given area and make recommendations for further action. More often than not, these recommendations are directed at MPs, councils and municipalities, but other key decision-makers may also be the target of the group’s work. Who participates in the various roles Project management The Danish Board of Technology appoints a project management team that guides and assists the work group. The team comprises a project manager with overall responsibility for facilitating the work of the group in relation to fulfilling its mandate, a project assistant and a secretary. Usually, an information project manager will be assigned to the project to handle press relations. In addition, a writer, such as a science journalist, may be appointed to shape the content of the report – based on the concrete guidelines of the work group. Work group members The work group consists of 5-8 specialists appointed by the Danish Board of Technology. The term specialists is taken to mean traditional experts who carry out research in the subject area at universities and institutions of higher education, civil servants and people from organisations with a vested interest in the area. Members are personally selected and thus do not represent their respective institutions or organisations. To ensure an inter-disciplinary holistic assessment and a treatment of all aspects of the topic, it is crucial to appoint group members on the basis of different technical approaches, knowledge and networks. If the group members feel there is an insufficient basis for professional assessment of the topic, more experts can be appointed to the group. Sometimes the group appoints a chairman from among its members. The report is written by the work group. Procedure description Typically, the group’s work extends over a period of 6-8 months and involves 4 phases: preparation of the first draft report, midway seminar, preparation of the final report, and publication of the report at a conference or the like. The group decides what goes into the report and sometimes shares the written tasks among its members, although as previously mentioned, these are usually farmed out to an external writer, such as a science journalist. Alternatively, the Danish Board of Technology’s project manager writes the report on behalf of the group. The group can also opt to outsource other concrete tasks to specialists with the necessary professional competences - for example, in connection with factual information gathering, data overview, etc. During the first phase of the project, the work group prepares a preliminary report which may contain initial assessments along with proposed courses of action. To ensure that the final report is based on the best possible professional foundation, the Danish Board of Technology holds a midway seminar. Between 20 and 25 experts and interested parties are invited to comment on the group’s preliminary report and put forward suggested amendments. The participants cover the (cross) disciplinary angles of the project so that all important aspects can be discussed at the seminar. The aim of the seminar is to clarify the technical foundation and for this reason, political debate takes a back seat. Possible technical and politicals solutions are also discussed. Typically, the seminar will consist of presentations by work group members and debate – partly in plenum and partly in groups when dealing with the more specific topics. Individual members are often appointed to oppose selected parts of the report. The seminar provides the work group with useful input about amendments and improvements to their report, and the group decides how best to use these suggestions in its work. In this way, the group’s preliminary findings and action proposals are “tested” by other experts and interested parties. Armed with this input, the work group prepares the final report containing the group’s assessments and recommendations. Before publishing, the report may be sent for a final round of comments from selected specialists, e.g. participants from the group’s seminar who consider possible factual errors and omissions, significant oversights or aspects that have been downplayed, the need for the updating of data in the event of new data or further data, further references, etc. The aim is for the group to reach a consensus as regards the technical foundation and action proposals. This may be an arduous process, but in doing so the group ensures that its messages will achieve a greater penetrative effect in the subsequent political process and in relation to other decision-makers. Direct results The method ends with a report published in the Danish Board of Technology’s report series and is then sent to relevant players and to MPs. The Board also publishes one or more newsletters based on the work of the inter-disciplinary work group. Indirect results A work group report can often help to create (renewed) debate about a given topic. In the work group, experts work together across disciplines and with colleagues with whom they have not worked before. This often leads to new lasting collaborative relationships and can thus help to support continued development in the area. Presentation of results Usually, a work group project is targeted at political level and/or those empowered to implement the action proposals. The primary group comprises MPs, but the target group also includes local politicians, major organisations, key decision-makers, etc. At the end of the project, the group can hold a briefing session at which it presents its assessments and recommendations to the parliamentary committee dealing with the problem area. Suitability A suitable topic for a work group is one that requires technical assessment across traditional sectors, disciplines and authority areas. The topic has a fairly broad scope, and it will often be a larger problem area that is the subject of assessment rather than a single technology. It may be a problem area where there is broad social acceptance that something needs to be ‘done’ - without having an obvious remedy at hand. Projects of this kind will often require knowledge gathering and an overview of the problem area. Brief facts Price A work group project costs DKK 200,000-300,000 excl. the salaries of the Danish Board of Technologymanagement team. Examples of the method within the framework of the Danish Board of Technology Better environment for children – an action proposal (2005) Open source software in the public sector (2002) Large public IT projects (2001) Industry’s use of chemicals – proposal for a strategic shift in political initiatives (2001) Recycling – in the Danish waste industry (1998) Last update: 07-02-2006
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