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Emerging technologies and the role of NGOs

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are involved in policy discussions surrounding the societal implications of emerging technologies. But what practices and strategies undertaken by these organizations are most influential in anticipating the longer-term societal implications of nanotechnology?

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Acknowledgements

Evan S. Michelson is a program director at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. This Commentary was written fully in the author's personal capacity, and the views expressed here are those of the author alone and do not reflect those of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation or any of the Sloan Foundation's grantees. The author was previously an employee of the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars from 2005–2007. This affiliation was acknowledged to all interviewees contacted during the course of this study. Portions of this Commentary are drawn from the author's book, Assessing the Societal Implications of Emerging Technologies: Anticipatory Governance in Practice (Routledge, 2016). The author gratefully acknowledges Taylor & Francis for their permission to re-use this material.

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Michelson, E. Emerging technologies and the role of NGOs. Nature Nanotech 12, 397–400 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2017.70

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