975 



MAJOR PROGRAM IX; 

 SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY 



Study and Improvement of the Relationship Between 

 Science, Technology and Society 



Biennial ($000) Annual ($000) 



Regular program 



of which staff costs 



of which project costs 

 Regular program and overhead (64.3%) 

 Other sources 



Overall comment on IX. 1 ; The purpose of this program is to achieve a 

 better understanding of the process of acquiring, disseminating and 

 applying new knowledge, with a view to promoting its assimilation and 

 employment in the service of development in a variety of social and 

 cultural situations. Case studies are to be prepared on the relation- 

 ship between scientific and technological progress and the evolution of 

 society in various social, economic and cultural contexts. This is an 

 area of work containing a large variety of projects; many of limited or 

 questionable value. Others worthy of encouragement involve NGOs such 

 as ICSU and ISSC in carrying out case studies on the impacts of S&T on 

 society and the examination of trends in research and S&T progress. 

 The contributions to the commemoration of the centenary of Niels Bohr 

 and the publication of the journal "Impact of Science on Society" should 

 be supported. Much of the remaining work could profit from a careful 

 review and evaluation. The current U.S. contribution to this UNESCO 

 program (projects and staff) , plus overhead, is about $540,000/year ; 

 the contribution to program costs would be about $330,000/year. It is 

 proposed that an overall program budget of $250,000/year be managed by 

 an appropriate U.S. organization (NSF/AID/NRC) sensitive to U.S. inter- 

 ests in order to support or complement selected UNESCO-related activi- 

 ties through NGOs and bilateral programs. 



IX. 1.1 Study of the Phenomenon of Science and Technology, its General 

 Evolution and its Relations with Society 



$183,050 2 - b/g 



Produce comprehensive studies of the relationship between 

 science, technology and society and the social assessment of 

 technological innovations. Contribute to the creation or 

 reinforcement in developing qountries of interdisciplinary 

 programs on the relationship between science, technology and 

 society. Provide training for 40 specialists from LDCs. 



IX. 1.2 Participation of Scientists, Engineers, Techm '^-ians and the ^^ 



Public in Setting Priorities for and Evaluating t he Effects 



Scientific and Technological Progress ^ ^ 



$65,100 artrr^ 



Encourage a greater participation by scientists from ai ^ 

 plines and engineers in studies of the relationship betwee 



