The Technology Assessment Implementation at Science and Technology Research Institute in Defense, Malaysia (Stride)

The roles of the technology assessment are to give inputs in terms of not only technical efficiency and economic rationality but also social and ecological consequences of the introduction of a specific technology. The aim of the technology assessment is to determine the risk as early as possible before any decision making in technology purchased is made. Despite the technology assessment basic concept evolution, technology assessment can be applied in various sectors but it is most prevalent in the health, environmental if compared to the defense sector. This is because the defense sector is a country specific whereby security is the main concern of a nation and the information regarding the technology assessments practices are not publish for public knowledge. The purpose of the study was to investigate the extent of STRIDE technology assessment roles in assisting defense ministry in relation to technology acquisition decisions. This study employs case study approach to acquire in depth information on the STRIDE roles in technology assessment using a structured interview to collect the data. The findings indicated that the scope of assessment done was more on development aspect. In addition, STRIDE employed two types of methodologies in determining the priority areas in R & D; brainstorming and Delphi analysis. The implication of the finding would provide clear definitions, scope and guidelines for future technology assessment task.