Collaboration outside the university
Members of the 3TU.Centre for Ethics and Technology have worked with several companies and (governmental) organisations, such as:
- Almende, a consultancy and R&D company
- Capgemini
- DHV, an international Dutch consultancy and engineering group
- Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations
- Rathenau Institute, the Dutch Institute for Technology Assessment
- Sun Microsystems
Examples of previous and current collaboration
Ethical considerations for IT systems in youth/child welfare
Under supervision of 3TU.Ethics scientific director Jeroen van den Hoven a master student has executed a research project for Capgemini into ethical, technical and institutional considerations when designing IT systems for information exchange in the youth/child welfare sector. Afterward, Capgemini and 3TU.Ethics have together organized a debate on this topic with professionals and policymakers working in this field. The report of this research project, ”In the Picture; Policy considerations for IT-supported recognition of children with psychosocial problems” can be downloaded here.
Accountability & Identity Management Systems in E-government
Project executed on request of the Dutch Ministry of the Interior. The project had two aims. Firstly, the research should provide insight in the way in which normative considerations are in fact shaping the information archtecture and system design in the domain of E-government. Secondly, the project aimed at giving a description of a transparant and systematic procedure that could be used to incorporate the relevant normative choices in the design process of E-government systems. Download the report ”Waardengevoelig ontwerp en de automatiserende overheid: het voorbeeld van identiteitsinfrastructuur”
Ethical aspects of upscaling an innovative water treatment technology
An example of so-called ethical parallel research done by ethicist from Delft University. The project was complementary to the work on an innovative water treatment technology, the NEREDA, done by engineering and consultancy firm DHV. One of the outcomes of this research was that during the innovation process more attention should be paid to possible harmful secondary emisions of the new technology. This has also led to new technical research proposals. Another insight was that (moral) responsibilities may become very unclear in an innovation network; it requires conscious tuning. See also the project page or read this article: ”Ethisch parallelonderzoek nuttig voor nieuwe zuiveringstechniek”. In: EO&B Magazine, no. 1 (2008), Den Haag, NWO.
Social and ethical implications of new technologies: cloning, nano, etc.
Members of 3TU.Ethics have contributed to several projects and activities of the Rathenau Institute, an independent Dutch organization that concerns itself with issues on the interface between science, technology and society, and that provides politicians with timely and well-considered information. Examples are providing an expert for a public debate on the future expectations of medical nanotechnology and the execution of studies (contract research) on the social implications of cloning technology and IVF. A more recent example is a project on the ethical consequences of converging technologies.
Communication support & its ethics to improve patient-centered health care
Consultancy and R&D company Almende is financing 50% of the cost of a research project by a PhD student. With the introduction and increasing interconnectedness of ICT systems in health care the question arises how to cope with ethical and societal aspects of those systems and the processes they support. Furthermore, accountability of these aspects will become increasingly important. The PhD student is looking into these question from a value sensitive design perspective. He spends research time at both Almende and 3TU.Ethics. See also the project page.
