CSTPR has closed May 31, 2020: Therefore, this webpage will no longer be updated. Individual projects are or may still be ongoing however. Please contact CIRES should you have any questions.
Ogmius Newsletter

Introducing Ogmius and the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research

Ogmius, the Gallic god of eloquence, is also the name of the new newsletter of the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research at the University of Colorado. Each issue of Ogmius will include an exchange among leading voices in science and technology policy, news about Center projects and publications, web and media resources, job and educational opportunities in science and technology policy, and other items of interest to the community.

The Center for Science and Technology Policy Research is in the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado-Boulder. The Center is part of the CIRES plan to promote science in service to society as an integrating theme. The Center will provide a unique capability and opportunity for research, education, and outreach at the interface of science and society. The Center’s areas of emphasis are science policy, technology policy, and technology assessment, described below:

  • Science policy. The traditional scholarly interest in science policy has for many years been captured by the phrases "science for policy" and "policy for science." The Center will explore how scientific information is linked to decision making and will also examine governance of the scientific enterprise with topics that range from broad federal government resource allocation issues to the practice of peer review.
  • Technology policy. Technology policy refers to the interrelationship of government, academia, and the private sector, and their shared goal of enhancing economic vitality through the transfer of knowledge to useful products and processes. Technology policy research seeks to understand these relationships and to develop, evaluate, and critique them.
  • Technology assessment. Technology assessment seeks to integrate knowledge of technological systems with their broader social and policy context as a contribution to the governance of science and technology. Decisions about how to allocate finite (and frequently scarce) resources can be made more effectively when decision makers consider integrated understandings of technology in society.

For students, the University’s Environmental Studies graduate program provides an opportunity to emphasize science/technology policy in their degree program. The Center also will emphasize outreach to the academic community and private and public decision makers using tools such as the Internet, newsletters, and multi-disciplinary workshops.