New start for TA portal

For more than ten years, openTA has been the information platform for the German-speaking TA community. With a new look, additional features and an English version, it now also addresses researchers, politicians, and anyone interested in TA worldwide.
OpenTA Relaunch
Completely redesigned and complemented by useful services for those interested in TA, beginners and experts: the openTA specialist portal after its relaunch.

Following its relaunch, openTA comes in a modern design with user-friendly access points for different target groups. The specialist portal now offers a range of new features that provide not only information on the many facets of technology assessment (TA) but also targeted support for research.

Information for beginners and experts

The new section “What is TA?” is the ideal starting point for anyone who is looking for general information about technology assessment. However, it is also aimed at researchers who need basic material for presentations or lectures. Also new is a comprehensive overview of central and supporting methods of technology assessment – from participatory modelling to Delphi methods and sustainability assessment.

OpenTA now also addresses the growing importance of databases and repositories. In its “Data and Trends” section, users can find links to low-threshold offerings such as “Our World in Data,” to specialist databases from international organizations, and AI applications.

Curated results from TA research

From now on, the “In Focus ” section provides people from politics, administration, business, or the interested public with a curated selection of concise information on the latest findings from TA research. Last but not least, the new “Education” section gives an overview of the increasingly diverse range of courses available to students and doctoral candidates in the field of technology assessment.

The portal’s existing categories, such as the “News and Blog” section, the events calendar, the comprehensive information on new releases and publications, or the overview of key institutional players in the TA community, have been further developed where necessary. Participation and suggestions are explicitly welcome. 

Institutional partners

OpenTA started as an initiative of the Netzwerk Technikfolgenabschätzung (Network for Technology Assessment, NTA). Funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), ITAS teamed up with the KIT Institute of Applied Mathematics and the KIT Library in 2012 to develop the portal. Since 2016, FIZ Karlsruhe – Leibniz Institute for Information Infrastructure has been the partner responsible for programming and hosting and, as such, has also taken on the technical and design implementation of the relaunch. (26.01.2026)

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