The congressional office of technology assessment a retrospective and prospects for the post-OTA world

The Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) was established to serve the United States Congress. In return, however, Congress contributed uniquely to the technology assessment process as it was implemented by OTA It will be enormously challenging to establish the conditions provided by congressional stewardship that enabled OTA's uneasy but effective marriage of expert advice and democratic participation. These congressional contributions are analyzed and implications for future new technology assessment institutions are examined.