Institut für Zukunftsstudien und Technologiebewertung

The IZT – Institut für Zukunftsstudien und Technologiebewertung is a non-profit research institution founded in 1981 that is dedicated to the analysis and design of futures. Here are the central aspects of the organization:

The IZT focuses on conducting research projects, preparing expert reports, and advising decision-makers in politics and business. The main tasks include future studies, the analysis of the development and introduction of new technologies, as well as the assessment and evaluation of their economic, political, ecological, and social consequences[1][3][4].

The IZT is committed to sustainability and the designability of futures. It stands for interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary future research, sustainability design, and technology assessment. The mission of the IZT is to identify socially relevant topics early, bring them into public discourse, and implement them in strategic research projects. The institute is independent, critical, unconventional, courageous, supportive, and agile[3][4].

A central concern of the IZT is the promotion of sustainability and the design of future-proof societies. The institute develops strategies and tools for technology design as well as for ecological and social structural change in the economy and society. It conducts projects in the areas of digitalization, resilience, and resource efficiency, such as the implementation of the BilRess roadmap and the development of roadmaps for digital transformation in agriculture and water management[1][3][5].

The IZT places great importance on participation and the integration of stakeholders. It promotes reflective learning processes among relevant decision-makers and stakeholders and creates space to weigh future alternatives. By combining expert knowledge with participatory and cooperative approaches, it ensures that knowledge is transferred into social practices and, conversely, that action knowledge flows into future ideas and future design[1][3].

The IZT is active in various research fields, including parliamentary technology assessment, digitalization, and the development of crisis radars to strengthen the resilience of society, politics, and the economy. Current projects include topics such as data governance, digital geopolitics, and transformation in agricultural crop production[4][5].

Thus, the IZT is a vibrant, diverse, and reflective organization that drives the necessary transformation of society through its interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary work, strong tradition, and future-oriented visions.

• 1 - https://www.neress.de/netzwerk/mitglieder/mitglieder-detailseite/izt-institut-fuer-zukunftsstudien-und-technologiebewertung/
• 2 - https://www.izt-labs.de/de/ueber-izt/
• 3 - https://www.izt.de/profil/
• 4 - https://www.izt.de
• 5 - https://www.izt.de/forschungsfelder/