Office of Technology Assessment 



The Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) was created in 1972 as 

 an analytical arm of Congress. OTA's basic function is to help legisla- 

 tive policymakers anticipate and plan for the consequences of techno- 

 logical changes and to examine the many ways, expected and 

 unexpected, in which technology affects people's lives. The assessment 

 of technology calls for exploration of the physical, biological, econom- 

 ic, social, and political impacts that can result from applications of 

 scientific knowledge. OTA provides Congress with independent and 

 timely information about the potential effects— both beneficial and 

 harmful— of technological applications. 



Requests for studies are made by chairmen of standing committees 

 of the House of Representatives or Senate; by the Technology Assess- 

 ment Board, the governing body of OTA; or by the Director of OTA 

 in consultation with the Board. 



The Technology Assessment Board is composed of six members of 

 the House, six members of the Senate, and the OTA Director, who is 

 a non-voting member. 



OTA has studies under way in nine program areas: energy and ma- 

 terials; industry, technology, and employment; international security 

 and commerce; biological applications; food and renewable resources; 

 health; communication and information technologies; oceans and en- 

 vironment; and science, education, and transportation. 



