The Stanhope Centre in collaboration with the Ford Foundation, the Open Society Institute and the Markle Foundation is hosting a two-day extensive roundtable on the design process of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT), and its impact on the various layers of society.

The roundtable will bring together an interdisciplinary, international and cross-sectoral group of policy-makers, scholars, industry representatives and public interest advocates concerned with technology and the public interest.

The project will consider the role and constitution of various standards setting bodies, actors, efforts and venues, each of which has different processes and principles for public interest representation. Particular emphasis will be placed on public interest concerns such as participation, accountability, and awareness of wider social consequences arising from technical decisions.

The roundtable is part of a large project that seeks for a new vocabulary around standard setting and aims to identify ways in which public interest concerns in the standards-setting process can be addresses. The roundtable will explore the barriers for participation in the design and standard processes and seek strategies to ensure greater transparency and inclusiveness.