Transitions to New Technologies

TNT's research aims for improved empirical understanding that feeds into new modeling approaches of technological change as input to national and international policy processes. The emphasis is on the treatment of technological uncertainty, spatial and actor heterogeneity, and assessments of the potential economic and societal impacts of the pervasive diffusion and adoption of new technologies.

TNT’s strategic research goal is to focus on the systemic aspects of technological change. The Program aims to understand the evolution of entire technology systems and not simply that of individual technologies. It draws on empirical case studies, associated "meta" analyses, novel modeling approaches, plus scenario studies and robustness analysis to inform technology policy choices from a systemic perspective. TNT also serves the scientific community at large through software development for scientific data documentation and dissemination.

An important objective of TNT is to disseminate policy-relevant research findings through global forums and major international scientific assessments. These include, most notably, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the Global Energy Assessment (GEA), the International Council for Science (ICSU), and strategically chosen new initiatives such as the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), Global Carbon Project (GCP), and ICSU's Future Earth initiative.

Last edited: 22 May 2014