Challenging Futures: Embracing Innovation by Criticising Technocracy

The project aims to bridge two orientations in science and technology studies (STS) that rarely meet: 1) an approach that is critical of science and technology development by focusing on its technocratic consequences and 2) an approach that is more likely to embrace technical and scientific innovations and with a focus on the new combinations and forms of commitment these can lead to. Bridging between these approaches is especially important today as society becomes increasingly focused on stimulating innovations. A great deal of interest among policy makers has recently been directed towards the idea of ​​social innovations. Social innovations are an interesting empirical case for investigating how 'innovation-loving' and 'technocracy-critical' approaches can meet.