Office of Technology Assessment

Overview


The Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) was established by Congress in 1972 to provide congressional committees with objective and authoritative analysis of the complex scientific and technical issues of the late 20th century. It was a leader in practicing and encouraging delivery of public services in innovative and inexpensive ways, including distribution of government documents through electronic publishing.

The OTA closed on September 29, 1995.

OTA documents
The following OTA documents are summarized in this Wiki (in alphabetical order):

A

 * Accessibility and Integrity of Networked Information Collections (OTA-BP-TCT-109) (Aug. 1993).
 * Adult Literacy and New Technologies: Tools for a Lifetime (OTA-SET-550) (July 1993).
 * Advanced Network Technology (OTA-BP-TCT-101) (June 1993).
 * An Assessment of Alternatives for a National Computerized Criminal History System (October 1982).
 * Automated Guideway Transit: An Assessment of PRT and Other New Systems (June 1975).
 * Automation and the Workplace: Selected Labor, Education, and Training Issues (Mar. 1983).
 * Automation of America's Offices, 1985-2000 (Dec. 1985).
 * Automobile Collision Data: An Assessment of Needs and Methods of Acquisition (Feb. 1975).

B

 * The Big Picture: HDTV and High-Resolution Systems (OTA-BP-CIT-64) (June 1990).
 * Book Preservation Technologies (May 1988).
 * Bringing Health Care Online: The Role of Information Technologies (Sept. 1995).

C

 * Civilian Satellite Remote Sensing: A Strategic Approach (OTA-ISS-607) (Sept. 1994).
 * Computer Software and Intellectual Property (OTA-BP-CIT-61) (Mar. 1990).
 * Computer-Based National Information Systems: Technology and Public Policy Issues (Sept. 1981).
 * Computerized Manufacturing Automation: Employment, Education, and the Workplace (Apr. 1984).
 * Copyright and Home Copying: Technology Challenges the Law (Oct. 1989).
 * Criminal Justice, New Technologies, and the Constitution (May 1988).
 * Critical Connections: Communication for the Future (OTA-CIT-407) (Feb. 1990).

D

 * Data Format Standards for Civilian Remote Sensing Satellites (OTA-BP-ISC-114) (May 1993).
 * Defending Secrets, Sharing Data: New Locks and Keys for Electronic Information (OTA-CIT-310) (Oct. 1987)
 * Information Security and Privacy in Network Environments (OTA-TCT-606) (Sept. 1994).
 * Protecting Privacy in Computerized Medical Information (OTA-TCT-576) (Sept. 1993).

E

 * Effects of Information Technology on Financial Services Systems (Sept. 1984).
 * Electronic Bulls and Bears: U.S. Securities Markets and Information Technology (OTA-CIT-469) (Sept. 1990).
 * Electronic Delivery of Public Assistance Benefits: Technology Options and Policy Issues (Apr. 1988).
 * Electronic Enterprises: Looking to the Future (May 1994).
 * Electronic Record Systems and Individual Privacy (June 1986).
 * The Electronic Supervisor: New Technology, New Tensions (Sept. 1987).
 * Electronic Surveillance and Civil Liberties (Oct. 1985).
 * Electronic Surveillance in a Digital Age (July 1995).
 * Encouraging High-Technology Development (Apr. 1983).
 * Exploratory Workshop on the Social Impacts of Robotics: Summary and Issues (Feb. 1982).

F

 * The FBI Fingerprint Identification Automation Program: Issues and Options (OTA-BP-TCT-84) (Nov. 1991).
 * Federal Government Information Technology: Management, Security, and Congressional Oversight (Feb. 1986).
 * Federal Scientific and Technical Information in an Electronic Age: Opportunities and Challenges (Oct. 1989).
 * Finding a Balance: Computer Software, Intellectual Property, and the Challenge of Technological Change (OTA-TCT-527) (May 1992).
 * Flat Panel Displays in Perspective (OTA-ITC-631) (Sept. 1995).
 * Food Information Systems (Feb. 1976).
 * Food Information Systems: Summary and Analysis (Aug. 1976).
 * The Future of Remote Sensing From Space: Civilian Satellite Systems and Applications (July 1993).

G

 * Global Communications: Opportunities for Trade and Aid (OTA-ITC-642) (Sept. 1995).
 * Global Standards: Building Blocks for the Future (OTA-TCT-512) (March 1992).

H

 * Helping America Compete: The Role of Federal Scientific and Technical Information (June 1990).
 * High-Performance Computing and Networking for Science (Sept. 1989).

I

 * Implications of Electronic Mail and Message Systems for the U.S. Postal Service (Aug. 1982).
 * Information Security and Privacy in Network Environments (OTA-TCT-606) (Sept. 1994).
 * Information Systems Related to Technology Transfer: A Report on Federal Technology Transfer in the United States (OTA-BP-ITE-111) (Sept. 1993).
 * Information Technologies for the Control of Money Laundering (OTA-ITC-630) (Sept. 1995).
 * Information Technology R&D: Critical Trends and Issues (Feb. 1985).
 * Informational Technology and Its Impact on American Education (Nov. 1982).
 * Informing the Nation: Federal Information Dissemination in an Electronic Age (Oct. 1988).
 * Innovation and Commercialization of Emerging Technologies (OTA-BP-ITC-165) (Sept. 1995).
 * Intellectual Property Rights in an Age of Electronics and Information (Apr. 1986).
 * International Competitiveness in Electronics (Nov. 1983).
 * Issue Update on Information Security and Privacy in Network Environments (OTA-BP-ITC-147) (Sept. 1995).

M

 * Making Government Work: Electronic Delivery of Federal Services (Sept. 1993).