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Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) report on responsible development of nanotechnology plus news about upcoming survey on nanotechnology commercialization

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I stumbled onto this OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation for Development) information in the context of research on another, unrelated, story about the current state of nanotechnology standards and regulations (Dec. 23, 2013 news item on Nanotechnology Now) which is not likely to be written up here.  Getting back to this posting, I found a report from the OECD’s Working Party on Nanotechnology dated Nov. 29, 2013 and titled: RESPONSIBLE DEVELOPMENT OF NANOTECHNOLOGY
Summary Results from a Survey Activity (report no. DSTI/STP/NANO(2013)9/FINAL). This 34 pp. report includes the latest information for 25 countries that agreed to take part in the survey. Here’s the information supplied by Canada,

Canada
While Canada does not have a distinct policy for nanotechnology, the Government of Canada is engaged in a number of activities which specifically address the responsible development of
nanotechnology:
• Policy principles for regulation and oversight: Federal departments are working together under the Canada-United States Regulatory Cooperation Council Nanotechnology Initiative to strengthen current policy principles to guide government decision-making concerning the responsible development of nanotechnology. These principles address the need to protect human health, safety, and the environment, while not unnecessarily hampering innovation and the exploitation of potential benefits from nanotechnology use.
• Research and international collaboration: In collaboration with domestic and international partners, the Government of Canada is actively involved in research and other activities to assess the environmental, health, and safety aspects of nanomaterials and to develop appropriate and internationally compatible approaches for their responsible development and application (e.g. through safety assessment work at the OECD, ISO/IEC nanotechnology standards development, bilateral regulatory co-ordination, and government research and government-funded extramuralresearch).
• Development of new policy tools: In October 2011, Health Canada introduced a Working Definition of Nanomaterials to provide a tool to assist the Government to gather safety information about nanomaterials in support of Health Canada’s mandate. The Working Definition is not an additional source of authority, but applies within existing regulatory frameworks that allow for obtaining information (www.hc-sc.gc.ca/sr-sr/pubs/nano/pol-eng.php).
• Federal science and technology (S&T) strategies: Federal strategies for S&T research recognise the interconnection between responsible innovation, regulation, and socioeconomic development. Through its 2007 strategy, Mobilising Science and Technology to Canada’s Advantage, for example, the Government of Canada is committed to ensuring the responsible development of nanotechnology. Federal strategies set out the general priority areas for government S&T research support (www.science.gc.ca/S&T_Reports-WS5F25C99B-1_En.htm). [Ed. Note: I would describe the information as statistical data rather than strategy and,in fact, the webpage you’re being directed to is titled: Science and Technology Data.)
• Interdepartmental collaboration and coordination: Federal science-based departments and agencies (SBDAs) are engaged in an initiative to foster interdepartmental collaboration and coordination of activities for the responsible governance of nanotechnology. The results of this initiative will inform SBDA work and activities concerning innovation, regulation, public engagement and research.
• External collaboration and coordination: Federal departments and agencies collaborate with external partners, such as provincial nanotechnology associations, on issues related to the responsible development of nanotechnology. (p. 9)

I mentioned the Canada-United States Regulatory Cooperation Council Nanotechnology Initiative in a June 26, 2013 posting.

As for this OECD report, there’s always the question, What constitutes ‘responsible’ development? The OECD report provides an answer,

For the purpose of this activity the responsible development of nanotechnology was described as actions to stimulate the growth of nanotechnology applications in diverse sectors of the economy, while addressing the potential risks and the ethical and societal challenges the technology might raise. Policy and initiatives for the responsible development of nanotechnology aim both at supporting research (and/or business activities) and implementing effective legal and regulatory frameworks in order to assure that risk and safety standards are met. They also aim at supporting and stimulating the debate on the place of science and technology in society by engaging with the public on social and ethical issues. As nanotechnology develops, countries and regions have begun to develop, refine and/or articulate regulatory approaches to support the responsible development of nanotechnology. (p. 7)

The question as to which countries have a specific policy for the responsible development of nanotechnology is answered at length (from the OECD report),

All participating delegations responded to the questions on whether a dedicated policy for the responsible development of nanotechnology was in place or if nanotechnology was addressed as part of other policies; and whether a dedicated research programme for nanotechnology was in place or if nanotechnology formed a part of other research programmes.

Many delegations reported a specific policy for the responsible development of nanotechnology, with 11 delegations, out of the 25 participating, indicating the development of a policy brief, a regulatory framework, a legislative framework and/or an overall strategy for the responsible development of nanotechnology. All of these delegations reported that the policy had already been implemented. Some of the delegations that indicated a dedicated policy for the responsible development of nanotechnology also indicated that nanotechnology was included within other policies.

Where there was a dedicated policy for nanotechnology, the policy operated at the national level in all cases with the exception of Spain, which indicated that there was a nanotechnology policy in some of its regions, in parallel with the national dedicated nanotechnology policy for R&D and innovation.

Nine delegations [Canada was one of the nine delegations] indicated there was no dedicated policy for the responsible development of nanotechnology, but those delegations indicated that nanotechnology was included as part of other policies.

Two delegations indicated there was neither a dedicated policy for the responsible development of nanotechnology nor a policy of which nanotechnology was a part. However, these delegations either reported a dedicated research programme on nanotechnology, or that nanotechnology had been recognised as a strategic research area.

Finally, three delegations, out of the 25 participating, indicated that a policy for the responsible development of nanotechnology was under development (Sweden, Turkey, and the United Kingdom) with publication planned for 2013-2014. For those countries, nanotechnology is currently included under the general umbrella of science and technology policy.

The majority of delegations highlighted the importance of collaboration and co-operation across- ministries, departments and agencies to ensure responsible and efficient development of the technology. Indeed, nanotechnology was expected to impact on a variety of industrial and economic sectors; this cross- sectoral nature appears to be a challenge for policy makers who require the involvement of all governmental stakeholders likely to be impacted by nanotechnology development. The majority of delegations involved a number of relevant ministries and departments in the development of their strategies for the responsible development of nanotechnology. This broad involvement was noted as a clear requirement in order to succeed in the development of nanotechnology.

… (pp. 7-8)

Finally, there is an OECD survey currently underway regarding nanotechnology commercialization according to a Dec. 20, 2013 notice on the Nanotechnology Industries Association (NIA) website (Note: A link has been removed),

NIA Members Consultation: OECD WPN Survey on Nanotechnology Commercialisation Policy – Deadline: 3 January 2014
Posted on 20 Dec 2013

The Working Party on Nanotechnology (WPN) of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is undertaking a project examining policies that support the commercialisation of nanotechnology research. It aims to identify:

Which existing government policies help companies efforts in commercialisation;
How significant this support is; and
What else governments could do/do more of, that would most significantly increase the commercialisation of nanotechnology research.

As part of its role within the Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC), NIA is asking its members to provide their views to the project via a short questionnaire.

Participating members have the option to remain anonymous, with their identity and other information kept confidential by the project.

The findings from the questionnaire responses will be presented in a final OECD WPN Report and will be made available to all participants in the new year.

Only NIA members have access to the questionnaire and I cannot find any mention of it on the OECD website although I did stumble on this delightful page titled: OECD Working Party on Nanotechnology: Second meeting of the Working Party on Nanotechnology, which contains a number of documents including one which outlines a 2007 Canadian project: Nanotechnology Pilot Survey by Statistics Canada.

I hope to hear about this commercialization survey in a more timely fashion than I’ve been managing lately. In any event, it’s nice to get caught up on the Canadian nanotechnology scene.

On a related front: In March 2013 the OECD and the US National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) held a joint symposium about assessing nanotechnology’s economic impacts. My Sept. 19, 2013 posting features the final report on the symposium. There’s also my July 23, 2012 interview with Vanessa Clive, Industry Canada’s Nanotechnology Policy Advisor and one of the symposium organizers. Finally, there’s the OECD’s 2010 report, The Impacts of Nanotechnology on Companies: Policy Insights from Case Studies. This report was co-designed and co-led by Vanessa, one of her Canadian colleagues and a Swiss colleague. The report itself was written by OECD staff as per Vanessa’s comments in my March 29, 2012 posting.

Nanotechnology’s economic impacts and full lifecycle assessments

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A paper presented at the International Symposium on Assessing the Economic Impact of Nanotechnology, held March 27 – 28, 2012 in Washington, D.C advises that assessments of the economic impacts of nanotechnology need to be more inclusive. From the March 28, 2012 news item on Nanowerk,

“Nanotechnology promises to foster green and sustainable growth in many product and process areas,” said Shapira [Philip Shapira], a professor with Georgia Tech’s [US]  School of Public Policy and the Manchester Institute of Innovation Research at the Manchester Business School in the United Kingdom. “Although nanotechnology commercialization is still in its early phases, we need now to get a better sense of what markets will grow and how new nanotechnology products will impact sustainability. This includes balancing gains in efficiency and performance against the net energy, environmental, carbon and other costs associated with the production, use and end-of-life disposal or recycling of nanotechnology products.”

But because nanotechnology underlies many different industries, assessing and forecasting its impact won’t be easy. “Compared to information technology and biotechnology, for example, nanotechnology has more of the characteristics of a general technology such as the development of electric power,” said Youtie [Jan Youtie], director of policy research services at Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute. “That makes it difficult to analyze the value of products and processes that are enabled by the technology. We hope that our paper will provide background information and help frame the discussion about making those assessments.”

From the March 27, 2012 Georgia Institute of Technology news release,

For their paper, co-authors Shapira and Youtie examined a subset of green nanotechnologies that aim to enable sustainable energy, improve environmental quality, and provide healthy drinking water for areas of the world that now lack it. They argue that the lifecycle of nanotechnology products must be included in the assessment.

I was hoping for a bit more detail about how one would go about including nanotechnology-enabled products in this type of economic impact assessment but this is all I could find (from the news release),

In their paper, Youtie and Shapira cite several examples of green nanotechnology, discuss the potential impacts of the technology, and review forecasts that have been made. Examples of green nanotechnology they cite include:

  • Nano-enabled solar cells that use lower-cost organic materials, as opposed to current photovoltaic technologies that require rare materials such as platinum;
  • Nanogenerators that use piezoelectric materials such as zinc oxide nanowires to convert human movement into energy;
  • Energy storage applications in which nanotechnology materials improve existing batteries and nano-enabled fuel cells;
  • Thermal energy applications, such as nano-enabled insulation;
  • Fuel catalysis in which nanoparticles improve the production and refining of fuels and reduce emissions from automobiles;
  • Technologies used to provide safe drinking water through improved water treatment, desalination and reuse.

I checked both Philip Shapira‘s webpage and Jan Youtie‘s at Georgia Tech to find that neither lists this latest work, which hopefully includes additional detail. I’m hopeful there’ll be a document published in the proceedings for this symposium and access will be possible.

On another note, I did mention this symposium in my Jan. 27, 2012 posting where I speculated about the Canadian participation. I did get a response (March 5, 2012)  from Vanessa Clive, Nanotechnology File, Industry Sector, Industry Canada who kindly cleared up my confusion,

A colleague forwarded the extract from your blog below. Thank you for your interest in the OECD Working Party on Nanotechnology (WPN) work, and giving some additional public profile to its work is welcome. However, some correction is needed, please, to keep the record straight.

“It’s a lot to infer from a list of speakers but I’m going to do it anyway. Given that the only Canadian listed as an invited speaker for a prestigious (OECD/AAAS/NNI as hosts) symposium about nanotechnology’s economic impacts, is someone strongly associated with NCC, it would seem to confirm that Canadians do have an important R&D (research and development) lead in an area of international interest.

One thing about this symposium does surprise and that’s the absence of Vanessa Clive from Industry Canada. She co-authored the OECD’s 2010 report, The Impacts of Nanotechnology on Companies: Policy Insights from Case Studies and would seem a natural choice as one of the speakers on the economic impacts that nanotechnology might have in the future.”

I am a member of the organizing committee, on the OECD WPN side, for the Washington Symposium in March which will focus on the need and, in turn, options for development of metrics for evaluation of the economic impacts of nano. As committee member, I was actively involved in identifying potential Canadian speakers for agenda slots. Apart from the co-sponsors whose generosity made the event possible, countries were limited to one or two speakers in order to bring in experts from as many interested countries as possible. The second Canadian expert which we had invited to participate had to pull out, unfortunately.

Also, the OECD project on nano impacts on business was co-designed and co-led by me, another colleague here at the time, and our Swiss colleague, but the report itself was written by OECD staff.

I did send (March 5, 2012)  a followup email with more questions but I gather time was tight as I’ve not heard back.

In any event, I’m looking forward to hearing more about this symposium, however that occurs, in the coming weeks and months.

ArboraNano in Washington, DC for a two-day shindig on nanotechnology and economic impacts

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The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and the US National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) are hosting an  International Symposium on Assessing the Economic Impact of Nanotechnology, March 27 – 28, 2012 in Washington, D.C. Registration for the event opens Feb. 10, 2012 (first come, first served) and it appears to be a free event.

From the NNI’s event page, here’s some information about their objectives and who they’re inviting to attend,

The objective of the symposium is to systematically explore the need for and development of a methodology to assess the economic impact of nanotechnology across whole economies, factoring in many sectors and types of impact, including new and replacement products and materials, markets for raw materials, intermediate and final goods, and employment and other economic impacts.

Attendees are being invited from a broad spectrum of backgrounds and expertise, including technology leaders, key decision makers, economists, investors, policy analysts, scientists and engineers from industry, business, government, academia, and the general public.

They have close to 40 confirmed speakers for this event and, interestingly (for a Canadian and/or someone interested in nanocrystalline cellulose), one of them is Reinhold (Ron) Crotogino of ArboraNano.

Crotogino, network director, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of ArboraNano, the Canadian Forest NanoProducts Network, has extensive experience and education in the forest products industry. From a Feb. 10, 2011 news item in Pulp & Paper Canada,

Crotogino is a graduate of the University of British Columbia (B.A.Sc. 1966) and McGill University (Ph.D. 1971), both in chemical engineering. He worked with Voith for a few years after graduating, but spent much of his career as a researcher and research manager with Paprican (now FPInnovations). [emphasis mine]

For anyone not familiar with the nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) story in Canada, FPInnovations initiated and has been heavily involved in the development of NCC. (My Dec. 15, 2011 posting features one of my more recent stories about NCC in Canada.)

It’s a lot to infer from a list of speakers but I’m going to do it anyway. Given that the only Canadian listed as an invited speaker for a prestigious (OECD/AAAS/NNI as hosts) symposium about nanotechnology’s economic impacts, is someone strongly associated with NCC, it would seem to confirm that Canadians do have an important R&D (research and development) lead in an area of international interest.

One thing about this symposium does surprise and that’s the absence of Vanessa Clive from Industry Canada. She co-authored the OECD’s 2010 report, The Impacts of Nanotechnology on Companies: Policy Insights from Case Studies and would seem a natural choice as one of the speakers on the economic impacts that nanotechnology might have in the future.

ETA March 29, 2012: Vanessa Clive did contact me to clarify the situation and her response has been included in my March 29, 2012 follow up posting. (scroll down approximately 1/2 way)

For anyone who wants to see the agenda before committing, here’s the link. I did take a look,

Session One: Setting the Scene

This plenary session will introduce the conference themes, objectives and expected outputs. The session will provide an overview of the technologies and challenges that impact the assessment of the economic impact of nanotechnology and some indications of metrics being used

[break]

Session One con’t: Government Panel Discussion

This panel session will consider the issues raised in Session One, with a focus on the particularities of each country in addressing the challenges in assessing the economic impact of nanotechnology [emphasis mine]

I would have appreciated a little more detail such as which speakers will be leading which session and when they say “each country” exactly which countries do they mean? Oddly, no one involved with this event thought about phoning me to ask my opinion.