Introduction to The Tech Industry’s Guide

Innovative technologies have a significant impact on society and relations between humans and technology. The Tech Industry’s Guide supports the tech industry in engaging citizens and social actors towards more responsible tech innovation. As an actor in the tech industry, you play a crucial role in deciding how innovative technologies are applied. Such innovations have the potential to solve global problems and respond to societal needs, yet there are also risks, unintended consequences and controversies which affect customer trust. Therefore, the development of new technologies should be aligned with societal values, needs and concerns. It is therefore crucial that the tech industry engages with citizens to hear their perspective and develops ways to address their concerns. This guide explains how to do this in practice, and why the turn towards responsible innovation is necessary.

How will this guide be useful for you?

In this guide, we work with a clear VISION to bring about a future where citizens trust the technology implemented within their everyday lives, because it has been developed with their needs and concerns in mind. To achieve this, we have to transform the way that tech innovation takes place, by engaging those people for whom technology is made. Engaging citizens in such a process requires following several stages, which are reflected in this guide’s step-by-step structure:
― WHAT: understanding what societal engagement is about and why it is useful for you
― WHY: gaining a deeper understanding of the benefits for undertaking societal engagement,
― HOW: guidance on how to engage with citizens, from facilitation to methods,
― WHO: tips on how to recruit participants,
― WHERE: ideas on the space and location for the events,
― WHEN: practical tips on when and how to plan activities.

Throughout the process, we provide opportunities to reflect on how the information can apply to your company, so that at the end it is possible to define an action plan as part of the IMPLEMENTATION.

After going through this guide, you will be able to get started with societal engagement and be part of our MISSION to connect the tech industry with the people for whom technology is developed, so that we can ascertain a higher ethical standard and responsibility within tech innovation.

This guide and its contents reflect only their authors' view. The Research Executive Agency and the European Commission are not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained herein.

The SocKETs project (Societal Engagement with Key Enabling Technologies) has received funding from the European Union´s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation under grant agreement no.958277.