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Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are involved in policy discussions surrounding the societal implications of emerging technologies. But what practices and strategies undertaken by these organizations are most influential in anticipating the longer-term societal implications of nanotechnology?

An increasingly important and often overlooked issue in science and technology policy is recognizing the role that philanthropies play in setting the direction of research. In an era where public and private resources for science are strained, the practices that foundations adopt to advance basic and applied research needs to be better understood. A new book, Philanthropy and the Future of Science and Technology, is a first-of-its-kind study that provides a detailed assessment of the current state of science philanthropy, surveying the landscape of contemporary philanthropic involvement in science and technology by combining theoretical insights drawn from the responsible research and innovation (RRI) framework with empirical analysis investigating an array of examples and case studies. In particular, this analysis can inform how philanthropic funders of research focused on energy systems, environmental issues, and climate change can ensure that this scholarship is well positioned to have societal impact. Such philanthropic-supported research is needed to guide the design, development, and implementation of more effective, practical solutions and practices at multiple levels of decision-making. In doing so, this article details some of the new programmatic efforts focused on advancing energy and climate research that has emerged from the philanthropic community in recent years. This article concludes by exploring alternative future scenarios that highlight different ways in which the relationship between science philanthropy and societal responsibility might evolve going forward.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the efforts of the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) in seeking to influence nanotechnology policy in the United States. Using the conceptual framework of anticipatory governance to guide the analysis, a series of strategies that PEN adopted will be described, including leveraging external expertise, developing cross-disciplinary research products, providing a future-oriented view on policy analysis, and building a brand for communications and outreach. This case study is a useful example in demonstrating the recent conceptual shift away from relying on government-led technology assessment efforts to consider the longer-term implications of new technologies toward the concept of anticipatory governance that includes a more substantive role for nongovernmental actors, that in providing forward-looking, actionable intelligence for decision makers. Considering the example of PEN also highlights the critical role that boundary-spanning organizations play in linking together disparate communities of expertise.

PurposeThe Rockefeller Foundation has developed the first‐of‐its‐kind trend monitoring effort in the philanthropic and broader social sector, conceptualizing and operationalizing an approach that surfaces cutting‐edge intelligence with a distinctly on‐the‐ground perspective from individuals and institutions living and working throughout the developing world, known as the Searchlight function. The Searchlight function consists of a network of forward‐looking, regionally focused horizon scanning and trend monitoring organizations that conduct regular, ongoing scanning for novel ideas, research results, and “clues” as to where the world is evolving. This article aims to focus on the Searchlight function and to introduce the Special Issue.Design/methodology/approachThe article describes the goals and evolution of the Searchlight function, an important set of lessons learned, and an overview of the synthesis and visualization efforts that have been applied to the Searchlight outputs.FindingsThe insights demonstrate that multiple, complementary synthesis and visualization methods can be applied to pull together the findings from a diverse range of horizon scanning activities. These cover a broad spectrum of approaches, ranging from the qualitative to the quantitative, from automated to non‐automated, from local to global, and from top‐down to bottom‐up. They show how different audiences can be reached effectively, from engaging the interested lay public to producing materials for experts in the field.Research limitations/implicationsThe articles outlined help to advance methodological thinking and provide benchmarks for horizon scanning, trend synthesis, and visualization that the foresight field can learn from and adopt over time.Practical implicationsOrganizations across a range of sectors face the common challenge of how to monitor the current context in which they operate. While governments and businesses have developed novel ways of generating, processing, and acting on timely information that has long‐term relevance and significance, the development and philanthropic sectors have generally been slow to adopt these foresight practices. The Searchlight function is beginning to fill this gap in the social sector.Social implicationsThe Searchlight function demonstrates how the practice of anticipating and tracking trends and envisioning different alternatives for how global issues might evolve can be harnessed to shape the future of human development and to improve the lives of poor and vulnerable populations. Creating such a global endeavor on this scale requires an iterative process linking together talented and committed individuals and institutions dedicated to a common goal.Originality/valueThe Searchlight function demonstrates one way that the philanthropic and broader social sector can take steps to think and act with the long‐term future more explicitly in mind by anticipating the most challenging problems and opportunities that might impact the lives of poor or vulnerable populations over the long‐term future. It shows how an organization can use trend monitoring and horizon scanning to better understand how the dynamic issues facing poor and vulnerable populations intertwine to create the complex realities of today and how they might fit together to illuminate the new realities of tomorrow.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to highlight the overall lack of focus of existing foresight analysis concerning the future of science and technology on the issue of poverty. The paper looks to re‐orient the technology foresight community to adopting an explicit pro‐poor perspective when considering future developments in science and technology (S&T).Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents a general overview of existing technology foresight studies from organizations located in North America, Europe, and Asia. By describing the key points made in a selection of foresight studies, the paper emphasizes the conceptual links between forward‐looking analysis related to S&T and poverty‐related issues.FindingsThe paper reaches two main conclusions about the role of S&T foresight and development. The first is that the foresight research community needs to interact more closely with the development community in order to enhance the value of the findings in each field to the other. Second, the pressing matter of poverty alleviation requires that the foresight community should come together and create a sense of urgency in issues that have long‐term implications but need immediate action and attention.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper is limited to an approach that provides an overview of existing work in technology foresight. While no such review could be comprehensive, this paper provides examples of technology foresight analysis from a range of geographies, sectors, and perspectives to help mitigate this gap.Practical implicationsThe argument suggests that technology foresight practitioners should make issues of poverty an explicit topic or category of analysis in future technology foresight activities. Including poverty issues in future scenario activities would go a long way to closing this gap.Originality/valueThis paper synthesizes ideas from a variety of forward‐looking studies addressing the future of science and technology and identifies the need to include poverty as a dimension for analysis in future studies. In addition, the paper provides an introduction to technology foresight work being conducted in Asia by the APEC Center for Technology Foresight.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present the concept of smart globalization and identify links with the Rockefeller Foundation's philanthropic activities in a number of areas, including health, climate change, urbanization, economic insecurities, and basic survival needs.Design/methodology/approachThe paper addresses how a new conceptualization of globalization intersects with the field of foresight by describing the Rockefeller Foundation's approach to addressing complex issues of human development.FindingsA forward looking research component is a valuable organizational structure that can add value by tracking and monitoring current and emerging trends relevant to the Foundation's strategic framework, operational initiatives, and areas of work.Practical implicationsThe paper suggests a closer interaction of foresight and development experts and practitioners by suggesting that individuals in both disciplines need to work more closely together to coherently address the multitude, interlocking global challenges of the 21st century.Originality/valueThe paper introduces the notion of “smart globalization” to the foresight community and details how this mindset has influenced and directed the ongoing work of the Rockefeller Foundation.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to conclude the special issue on the topic of pro‐poor foresight.Design/methodology/approachThe paper takes the form of a draft synthesis statement and selected recommendations to emerge from the “Foresight for smart globalization” workshop.FindingsThere is a need for change at all levels of governance to address the challenges of global poverty, and efforts are needed to foster and improve national foresight capacities.Originality/valueAdding poverty as an explicit dimension of existing and future foresight activities is a key component of fostering pro‐poor decision making.

The field of nanotechnology offers the possibility of transforming the international science and technology (S&T) policy landscape and making a significant impact on the direction of research and development for a wide range of nations and companies. Nanotechnology endeavors in the United States, China, and India remain some of the most interesting because of the opportunities and challenges this field poses for future competition and collaboration between these three nations. This paper examines how nanotechnology will raise new science and policy questions—and lead to new strategic linkages—that will have a major impact on the futures of these nations for decades to come. Then the paper analyzes and compares the current state of nanotechnology in these three countries, discusses some of the main drivers of collaboration, investigates current and potential uncertainties associated with nanotechnology, and offers policy suggestions on ways that these difficulties may be addressed.

Summary Although proposed nanotechnology applications hold great promise, little is known about the potential associated risks. This lack of clarity on the level of risk associated with nanotechnology has forced people to make decisions about consumption with incomplete information. A national random digit dialing telephone survey (N= 1014) was conducted in the United States to assess knowledge of nanotechnology and perception of risk in August 2006. This investigation looks critically at individuals' responses to questions about the balance of risks and benefits of nanotechnology, both at the outset of the survey and after respondents were given a brief introduction to the potential benefits and risks of the technology. Models were created to characterzise respondents who said they did not know how nanotechnology's risks and benefits balanced in the “preinformation” condition but who, in the postinformation condition, had a different opinion. Respondents who were highly educated, members of the Republican Party, or male were more likely to switch from “don't know” in the preinformation condition to “benefits outweigh risks” in the postinformation condition, whereas respondents who were less educated, members of the Democratic Party, or female were more likely to switch from “don't know” in the preinformation condition to “risks outweigh benefits” in the postinformation condition. This is the first study to our knowledge to develop a significant model of nanotechnology risk perception change, specifically with regard to gender differences. The power of information provision to sway opinions is also supported, highlighting the importance of developing educational efforts targeting vulnerable populations.

Over the past few years, a push to reverse the overall paltry state of science academies in the developing world has emerged as a central theme in numerous reports and has garnered the attention of a variety of organizations, including The National Academies in the United States. In particular, the establishment and maintenance of well-organized and functioning national academies of science throughout Africa is becoming an increasingly essential and crucial element of their overall prospects for development. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to analyze the particular institutional traits and characteristics related to African science academies—including their small member-ships, lack of finances, little experience with policy advising, and worries about government backlash—and to argue that, because of these factors, these institutions must work to find suitable activities that will allow them to leverage whatever resources they do have to become effective policy advisors for government.

The purpose of this article is to analyze, discuss, and assess some of the competing viewpoints and factors regarding the role of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) within civil society. By outlining the various actions that civil society organizations (CSOs) need to take in order to maximize the positive impacts and mitigate the negative consequences that these revolutionary technologies will bring, it will become clear that the employment and utilization of ICTs by civil society has yet to reach an optimal point. However, over the next few decades, while these technologies will inevitably come to transform the development landscape, the hope is that CSOs will fully integrate ICTs into the development process and will come do so with realistic expectations. By adopting an ICT “plan of action,” CSOs could better harness the power of these new technologies and, in turn, will be able to more successfully apply them towards the promotion of improved human development.

The purpose of this article is to analyze the policy decisions made by the World Health Organization (WHO) in working to fight the spread of the first truly global infectious disease, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), of the 21st century. In particular, the author pays attention to the WHO’s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) and analyzes how it was employed in coordinating a variety of response efforts around the world. In addition, he identifies and assesses the successes and failures of the GOARN’s policies with regard to the monitoring and containment of the SARS outbreak.

Claudia Juech is Managing Director of Research, Rockefeller Foundation, NYC and Evan S. Michelson is Associate Director, Rockefeller Foundation, NYC.

As nanotechnology applications are being developed to provide novel solutions to many of the world’s water problems—from developing improved desalination methods to cleaning up emerging pollutants—the international community has a unique opportunity to develop and implement new kinds of governance systems that will ensure that these applications can reach the market quickly, efficiently, and successfully. National and international regulatory bodies, from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the United States to the United Nations Water Program (UN-Water), can address this challenge of applying nanotechnology to improving water quality by adopting methodologies that spur innovation for development early in the research process, focusing on new ways of disseminating information about nanotechnology water applications, and considering the full life cycle of nanotechnology water applications. This chapter will investigate some of the ways that barriers to collaboration around nanotechnology water applications in the international arena can be overcome. It begins by diagnosing the need for policy interventions with respect to nanotechnology and water and then offers a series of recommendations for approaches that may successfully address these challenges. The main purpose is to present an emerging set of policy options that can accelerate the application of nanotechnology toward improving water quality. However, without appropriate supportive policy options that can advance innovation responsibly, there is a potential that these benefits could be lost due to delay, lack of commercialization opportunity, and poor public outreach and communication.

Drawing on his experience in the Woodrow Wilson Center Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, as well as his experience in strategic planning and international development, Evan Michelson urges those interested in equity to engage with decision-makers. Michelson offers a number of lessons to help those with a desire to make the development of nanotechnology more equitable have a significant effect. He recommends that advocates aim to influence nano agenda setting as early as possible, develop proof of concept examples for pro-poor applications, build public and policymaking constituencies, communicate explicitly the anticipated equity and equality impacts, and use diverse empirical research methods.

Exposure assessment is crucial for risk assessment for nanomaterials. We propose a framework to aid exposure assessment in consumer products. We determined the location of the nanomaterials and the chemical identify of the 580 products listed in the inventory maintained by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. It was found that in 19% of the products the nanomaterial were nanoparticles bound to the surfaces. Nanoparticles suspended in liquids were used in 37% of the products, whereas 13% used nanoparticles suspended in solids. One percent were powders containing free potentially airborne nanoparticles. Based on the location of the nanostructure we were able to further group the products into categories of: (1) Expected to cause exposure; (2) May cause exposure; and (3) No expected exposure to the consumer. Most products fall into the category of expected exposure, but we were not able to complete the quantitative exposure assessment mainly due to the lack of information on the concentration of the nanomaterial in the products — a problem that regulators and industry will have to address if we are to have realistic exposure assessment in the future. To illustrate the workability of our procedure, we applied it to a product scenario — the application of sun lotion — using best estimates available and/or worst case assumptions.

Nanotechnology is expected to be the key technology of the 21st century. Researchers are exploring ways to see and build at this scale, reengineering familiar substances like carbon and silver to create new materials with novel properties and functions. However, the emergence of nanotechnology also provides us with an opportunity to reshape how the public perceives the government's ability to manage risks posed by new technologies. As the first wave of nano-based products? including cosmetics, dietary supplements, food additives, and consumer products?enters the market, society will begin to ask questions about the health, environmental, and safety implications of these materials. The purpose of this paper is to connect the current state of such public perceptions?both with respect to nanotechnology, in particular, and to emerging technologies, in general? with the current state of nanotechnology product development and to analyze how well situated the public sector is to deal with these challenges.

The purpose of this paper is to explore a case study that examines strategies for framing plausible nanotechnology futures. Using document analysis and semi-structured interviews, this investigation of the forward-looking information produced by the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) shows how an organisation uses foresight to seek policy influence and anticipate nanotechnology’s alternative futures. The set of approaches identified and investigated in this research include bringing the future into the present, regularly updating knowledge through repetition, capitalising on the first mover advantage, placing forward-looking information at the centre and periphery of analysis, and ensuring precise timing in the production of anticipatory knowledge. The findings demonstrate the social construction of plausibility and illustrate concrete strategies that can be successfully marshalled to strengthen plausible foresight for policy influence. These approaches also offer a replicable blueprint that organisations from all sectors can take to make foresight relevant and actionable for policy-makers.

Exposure assessment is crucial for risk assessment for nanomaterials. We propose a framework to aid exposure assessment in consumer products. We determined the location of the nanomaterials and the chemical identify of the 580 products listed in the inventory maintained by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, of which 37% used nanoparticles suspended in liquids, whereas1% contained "free airborne nanoparticles". C(60) is currently only used as suspended nanoparticles in liquids and nanosilver is used more as surface bound nanoparticles than as particles suspended in liquids. Based on the location of the nanostructure we were able to further group the products into categories of: (1) expected, (2) possible, and (3) no expected exposure. Most products fall into the category of expected exposure, but we were not able to complete a quantitative exposure assessment mainly due to the lack of information on the concentration of the nanomaterial in the products--a problem that regulators and industry will have to address if we are to have realistic exposure assessment in the future. To illustrate the workability of our procedure, we applied it to four product scenarios using the best estimates available and/or worst-case assumptions. Using the best estimates available and/or worst-case assumptions we estimated the consumer exposure to be 26, 15, and 44 microg kg(-1) bw year(-1) for a facial lotion, a fluid product, and a spray product containing nanoparticles, respectively. The application of sun lotion containing 2% nanoparticles result in an exposure of 56.7 mg kg(-1) bw d(-1) for a 2-year-old child, if the amounts applied correspond to the European Commission recommendations on use of sunscreen.