FTA and equity: New approaches to governance

FTA and equity addresses the need for multiple stakeholders' participation in public policy and corporate decision making thus leading to more democratic societies. The need for more participative and inclusive decision making is due to the move from the technocratic nature of decision making towards more democratic processes, which is a result of the transformation of societies and situations as a result of various factors including globalisation, environmental concerns, more knowledge intensive work and lifestyle. The current paper addresses Future-oriented Technology Analyses (FTA) in the context of a better understanding of issues that ought to be considered by the FTA community so that it can support the quest for new forms of governance. The paper has been structured on the discussion of governance around three pillars: socio-cultural evolution, corporate industrial activity and government. Analysis of the relationship between governance and each of the three pillars poses a number of questions to the FTA community that reflect on the potential impacts of FTA activities in governance. Setting a new landscape for the FTA, the paper concludes with those issues where the FTA community is starting to devote attention, as well as those it still ought to consider. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.