December 23, 2022
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As part of our partnership with Demos Helsinki, this week we are publishing the first of three chapters from the series Towards an Experimental Governance Framework for Emerging Technologies.

What can be learned from historical cases of experimental governance?

What are their implications for contemporary governance of emerging technologies?

In “Chapter 1: Learning From The Past” Open Loop and Demos Helsinki address these questions showing how experimental governance might help set new and more resilient standards for policy and innovation activities to come. The chapter illustrates why technology and regulation have a difficult time evolving at the same pace, and identifies experimental governance as a strategy to address the so-called Collingridge dilemma. By assessing key examples from three experimental governance approaches (experimental lawmaking, policymaking, and design) it reflects on their advantages and limitations, highlighting three gaps in previous experimental governance initiatives that need to be addressed in view of contemporary challenges.
About this partnership
Open Loop is a global strategic program that connects policymakers and technology companies to develop evidence-based governance frameworks based on policy experimentation.
Demos Helsinki is an independent think tank focused on governance innovation, and participatory and experimentalist policy-making.
Together, we set out to explore what a more holistic approach to experimental governance in emerging technologies can look like. By learning from past and present experimental policy making initiatives and methodologies, we will also explore how such a framework can foster openness and trust.
The goal is to extrapolate actionable insights about the future of experimentalist policymaking for technology, and what roles and activities of different actors in it could look like. By drawing on key insights from past experimental legislation and policy initiatives, public sector innovation and policy design; and by studying the current landscape of regulatory sandboxes and policy prototyping activities in the field of emerging technologies, our aim is to co-design a novel and holistic framework for experimental governance that bridges the gap and strengthens both policy and technology design.
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