Values can shape technological trajectories, and as such need to be embedded into the core of the innovation process and even within technologies to best shape the ethical and social outcomes of our technological systems to match societal needs. This requires several steps:

1. Building robust processes and forums in which all relevant stakeholders have the capacity to deliberate on the choice of values and how they should be applied.
2. Identifying as a starting point a set of foundational values shared by liberal democracies to root responsible innovation (e.g. respecting human rights, equity and inclusion, promoting safety, security and sustainable development, etc.).
3. Identifying levers for embedding values in the innovation cycle (e.g. in agenda-setting, R&D, commercialisation, etc.)

As countries develop forward-looking policy agendas for the development of emerging technologies, they need to be able to anticipate in situations of high uncertainty, by collecting knowledge of the prospects and implications of an emerging technology (e.g. economic stakes, levels of social support, possible ethical and societal aspects and potential impacts and risks). This requires robust tools of forward-looking technology assessment and appraisal, which do not involve decision making, but rather the upstream identification of desirable (and undesirable) future outcomes, potential risks, risk benefit trade-offs and dilemmas.

The importance of engaging relevant stakeholders throughout the innovation process is a well-known pillar of good practice. However, to best align technology developments with societal goals, a greater emphasis on incorporating their perspectives upstream in the innovation process is needed – from agenda-setting to technology design, from technology assessment to designing governance. Creating a long-term foundation for this engagement will be key to governing current and future emerging technologies responsibly.

The fast pace of emerging technologies necessitates an agile and anticipatory governance system that balances the protection of values while encouraging innovation, accommodating new evidence, and adapting to new situations. The latter stages of innovation, which focus on safety and efficacy, might be handled better within formal regulatory frameworks, whilst earlier stages might benefit from guidelines or codes of practice. It is essential to have a systemic approach to governance which takes into account the entire policy cycle as well as the complexity of innovation ecosystems and associated value chains, carefully assesses the options (from prescriptive regulation to experimental or self-regulation approaches like test beds and sandboxes) and considers the best combination of options in each specific context.

The development, use and effects of technologies span national borders, highlighting the need for multilateral approaches to governance. There are four mutually reinforcing pathways to the development of greater international cooperation for the design of both national and international technology governance systems:

• Forward-looking dialogue in inclusive forums
• Building on common analysis and evidence
• Reinforce co-operation in science and technology development
• Develop international principles, technical standards and guidelines based on shared values