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Future Directions and Possibilities for the UniversitySeptember 2024

Report on Literature Review and Delphi Study

What lies ahead for universities? A new futures research study from the University of Turku maps multiple pathways and tensions that could transform how universities teach, research, and serve society.

Introduction
Researchers of the University of Turku have published a comprehensive report "Future directions and possibilities for the university: Report on literature review and Delphi study" (Virmajoki et al. 2024) about the possible future trajectories of the university of Turku. The report, which is uploaded here and also available on utupub.fi, is part of a larger project - Strategic Foresight and Futures Thinking Initiative.   

The report, conducted by the Strategic Planning Unit of the University of Turku together with Finland Futures Research Centre (FFRC), contains the results of the analysis of the operating environment of universities. Operating environment here refers to the broader context of trends, challenges, and conditions - both nationally and globally - that affect how universities function and perform their core activities in teaching and research. While the report has as its scope the University of Turku, its findings and especially the approach are more broadly relevant, particularly in Europe.

Analysis of Operating Environment as Research
The analysis of the operating environment was primarily based on a literature review and a subsequent Delphi survey. We reviewed over 200 scientific texts relevant to the subject. It quickly became evident how multifaceted and unique universities are. Scenarios—a common tool in foresight—would not be sufficient on their own to understand the possible futures of universities. Therefore, we first categorised universities into 10 different dimensions, such as societal purpose, international orientation, and educational organization, and identified different directions for development for each dimension. This allowed us to create a multidimensional description of possible development paths for universities, yielding in total 30 different paths and their combinations. The reality is somewhere between the idealized end-points.

In addition to helping understand various possible futures, the analysis where several dimensions and their paths are explained also provides a tool for the university units to examine their own position in relation to these possible developments. University units can differ significantly from one another, and no analytical tool that accounts for these differences can be sufficient. Our report offers such a tool by enabling discussion – with agreements and disagreements – of different development trajectories from the perspectives of diverse traditions and practices that can be found within any university.

Possibilities and Desirability – The Delphi Study
It was not only important to understand the possible futures universities may face. Equally crucial at the University of Turku was to understand what university members – researchers, students, administration, and other staff – think about these futures. To achieve such understanding, we conducted a Delphi study to ask what university members consider probable and desirable when it comes to the future. The statements were designed to provoke thoughts and bring out views that might not emerge in more traditional discussions. In addition to the probability and desirability assessments, we gathered valuable insights from the open comment sections, which often reveal perspectives that might be overlooked in the literature review.

Some Key Results
While the most interesting results cannot all be included in this text, some should be highlighted to provide a sense of the nature of the study.

First, universities are continuously balancing societal impact, economic goals, and fundamental research. The demands from the side of the wider society often pull in different directions. The Delphi study showed that working towards a societal mission is seen as desirable, but market orientation is expected to be more likely. A common thought and worry seems to be that universities are likely to shift towards more commercial interests, despite the tension this creates with their social responsibilities not measurable in economic terms.

Second, global research collaboration and local relevance create a significant tension. Universities aim to be part of global networks, while also expected to contribute to their local communities. The Delphi study revealed varying opinions on this balance. Some see global engagement as essential, while others stress the importance of local ties. Whether a university can succeed in both areas or must focus on one is a central question. The geopolitical tensions and the regional clusters this might create adds another path that might make the question between local and global even more difficult and multidimensional.

Third, in teaching, the main tension seems to lie between scalable, mass-oriented education and more personalised, tailored teaching. Scalable teaching allows universities to reach more students, but the Delphi study showed that personalized methods are considered more desirable. Yet, the study also indicated that standardised models are, according to the members of the university, more likely to prevail due to the scarcity of resources. Technology and its development will be an integral part of both scalable and personalised teaching paths (and everything in between) but different technological solutions might be associated with different paths.

Significance for the University Sector
The project and the report highlight the value of combining an analysis of the university operating environment and a more detailed study of the views of the university community. On the one hand, an analysis of the environment and the paths therein provides a tool to navigate the prospects and risks. On the other hand, the analysis of the members’ perspective helps the university understand where we stand now and what are the paths that the members recognise. Together, these two provide a robust view on the strategic status and importance of different possible trajectories for universities’ operating environment.

The research has broad applicability across universities worldwide. Through its dimensions and models, any higher education institution can map out and discuss likely trajectories, desired directions, and concerning paths ahead - regardless of their unique features. By combining extensive research literature with a Delphi study, the report opens a window into the possible futures of universities – or rather a map that can be used to navigate the long-term issues that these long-standing institutions face.

References
Virmajoki, V., Ahokas, I., Witoon, S., Ahlqvist, T., Kirveennummi, A., & Suomalainen, K.-M. (2024). Future directions and possibilities for the university: Report on literature review and Delphi study. A Report by University of Turku Strategic Planning Unit in collaboration with the Finland Futures Research Centre (FFRC). ISBN 978-952-249-617-1.

Posted on: 13/12/2024

Last Edited: 2 months ago

Technology Foresight for Public Funding of InnovationAugust 2023

Methods and Best Practices

In times of growing uncertainties and complexities, anticipatory thinking is essential for policymakers.
Technology foresight explores the longer-term futures of Science, Technology and Innovation. It can be used
as a tool to create effective policy responses, including in technology and innovation policies, and to shape
technological change.


In this report we present six anticipatory and technology foresight methods that can contribute to anticipatory
intelligence in terms of public funding of innovation: the Delphi survey, genius forecasting, technology roadmapping, large language models used in foresight, horizon scanning and scenario planning.


Each chapter provides a brief overview of the method with case studies and recommendations.
The insights from this report show that only by combining different anticipatory viewpoints and approaches
to spotting, understanding and shaping emergent technologies, can public funders such as the European
Innovation Council improve their proactive approaches to supporting ground-breaking technologies. In this
way, they will help innovation ecosystems to develop.

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Posted on: 28/10/2024

Last Edited: a month ago

Harvesting ChangeDecember 2022

Harnessing Emerging Technologies and Innovations for Agrifood System Transformation

FAO’s Office of Innovation is working with partners on an FAO Chief Scientist initiative on Foresight on emerging agrifood technologies and innovations, aligned with the UN 2.0 process and the FOFA 2022: engaging all key actors of agricultural innovation systems in the foresight on emerging technologies and innovations to better prepare for alternative futures, feeding it into anticipatory action, and convening the global community for constructive dialogue and knowledge exchange. The aim is to support policymakers, investors and innovation actors in their approaches and decision-making. The study assesses a selection of technologies and innovations, which potentially could be of paramount importance in addressing agrifood challenges until 2050, as well as the most important trends and drivers that will influence the emergence of agrifood technologies and innovations and their triggers of change, including some regional aspects. The goal is also to build plausible future scenarios for the evolvement of the emerging technologies and innovations in the future with the time horizon of 2050 to inform future-oriented policymaking. The report is built with inputs from a multistakeholder Delphi survey and online workshops with experts.

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Posted on: 10/11/2024

Last Edited: 18 days ago

Strategic Foresight in the Western BalkansSeptember 2021

Recovery on the Horizon

The report outlines three scenarios of possible futures for Research and Innovation (R&I) policies in the Western Balkans in 2035. Using a Strategic Foresight approach, the report supports policy makers in creating an enabling environment for R&I policies to thrive and in deciding on priorities for strategic investments for the future. 

The scenarios in the report are based on an extensive co-creation process with more than 700 R&I experts from the Western Balkans, representing academia, civil society, the private sector, international organisations, and central and sub-national governments. To provide inspiration for the implementation of future-proof R&I policies, the report also includes initial roadmaps. 

These are designed to inspire decision-makers by setting targets and the actions needed to develop their R&I systems for the benefit of all citizens in the Western Balkans. The project was launched in July 2020 and the final study was presented at the EU-WB Ministerial Meeting in October 2021.

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Posted on: 04/12/2024

Last Edited: 2 months ago

Travelling into the [future]December 2021 - September 2022


Travelling into the [future] (spanish: Viajando al [futuro]) is a long-term project aimed at developing desirable future scenarios for sustainable tourism in Spain together with local stakeholders and experts in the field. The project is funded by the European Climate Foundation and implemented in a collaboration between Futures Probes and Tipi. 


Process & Methodology

The project was structured into three main phases: Research, Crowdsourcing, Storytelling.

  • In the research phase, a PESTLE analysis and the elaboration of local stakeholder maps identified environmental key factors and networks.
  • In the crowdsourcing phase, participatory workshops with local stakeholders and a Delphi survey with tourism experts were run in parallel, built upon and at the same time challenging the knowledge gathered in the previous phase. 
  • In the Storytelling phase, the results were used as the fundament for building six future scenarios, visualised as a written narrative accompanied by an illustration. 

Outcome

  • Building up and strengthening local stakeholder networks and generating ideas for future sustainable tourism(s). Gathering of key insights on desirable, possible and likely future developments of tourism in Spain. 
  • Identification and discussion of needs, desires, worries and attitudes of tourism stakeholders – in its complexity and diversity. 
  • Six future scenarios to inspire can activate communities, organisations and citizens to define measures that accelerate the transformation towards a better, more sustainable tourism.

Next steps

  • Developing indicators to measure the performance of (future) touristic activities in terms of their sustainability.
  • Creating a network of change agents within the tourism sector to exchange experiences, needs, knowledge and to collectively identify possible synergies and action steps to be taken.
  • Designing experimental pilot projects focusing on solving some of the concrete challenges identified as common to one or all of the regions observed.

Posted on: 04/11/2024

Last Edited: 2 months ago

ANTICIPINNOVDecember 2021 - November 2024

Anticipation and monitoring of emerging technologies and disruptive innovation

Anticipatin and monitoring of emerging technologies and disruptive innovation (ANTICIPINNOV) project is a collaboration between the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) with the European Innovation Council (EIC) 2023-2024 to strengthen strategic intelligence capacity through the use and development of anticipatory approaches. Learn more about the project from its's three different branches. 

Everybody is looking into the Future! A literature review of reports on emerging technologies and disruptive innovation

Growing volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity, present leading challenges in policy-making nowadays. Anticipatory thinking and foresight are of utmost importance to help explore trends, risks, emerging issues, and their potential implications and opportunities in order to draw useful insights for strategic planning, policy-making and preparedness. The findings include a set of 106 signals and trends on emerging technologies and disruptive innovations across several areas of application based on a review of key reports on technology and innovation trends and signals produced by public and private entities outside of the EU institutions. Its goal is to strengthen the EIC’s strategic intelligence capacity through the use and development of anticipatory approaches that will - among other goals – support innovation funding prioritisation. Other insights were extracted, namely those related with the scope of the EIC Programme Manager portfolios. 

Read EU Policy Lab blog post :Everybody is looking into the future: a technology foresight perspective 

Scanning deep tech horizons: Participatory collection and assessment of signals and trends

The Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the European Innovation Council (EIC) conducted a series of Horizon Scanning exercises across six EIC programme managers’ (PM) portfolios as part of an ongoing collaborative effort to strengthen EIC strategic intelligence capacity through the use and development of anticipatory approaches. The fields covered include: Space Systems & Technologies; Quantum Technologies; Agriculture & Food; Solar Fuels & Chemicals; Responsible Electronics and Architecture, Engineering & Construction. The main findings of this Horizon Scanning – the identification and analysis of ‘signals’ from nascent research, technologies, or trends on the periphery of the mainstream – show opportunities for investment in emerging technologies and breakthrough innovations that can advance EU competitiveness while also serving to support the EU’s long-term policy and societal visions.Other insights were taken from this exercise, namely the identification of drivers, enablers and barriers to technology development and adoption, that could be the starting ground of further foresight exercises and policy initiatives. The report highlights three main themes – sustainability, energy, and scalability, which are overarching across signals, drivers, enablers and barriers. And concludes with a series of recommendations to streamline Horizon Scanning activities in the specific context and needs of the EIC. 

Read EU Policy Lab blog post: Technology foresight: anticipating the innovations of tomorrow 

Technology Foresight for Public Funding of Innovation: Methods and Best Practices

 In times of growing uncertainties and complexities, anticipatory thinking is essential for policymakers. Technology foresight explores the longer-term futures of Science, Technology and Innovation. It can be used as a tool to create effective policy responses, including in technology and innovation policies, and to shape technological change. In this report we present six anticipatory and technology foresight methods that can contribute to anticipatory intelligence in terms of public funding of innovation: the Delphi survey, genius forecasting, technology roadmapping, large language models used in foresight, horizon scanning and scenario planning. Each chapter provides a brief overview of the method with case studies and recommendations.The insights from this report show that only by combining different anticipatory viewpoints and approaches to spotting, understanding and shaping emergent technologies, can public funders such as the European Innovation Council improve their proactive approaches to supporting ground-breaking technologies. In this way, they will help innovation ecosystems to develop. 

Posted on: 22/10/2024

Last Edited: 12 days ago

Asylum Scenarios 2032 – The Future of International Protection in the EU+ in the Next 10 YearsJuly 2021 - November 2022

Four scenarios on the future of asylum

This project aimed to provide the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) and its partners with future-oriented assets and skills to better prepare for and fulfil their mission within a dynamic and rapidly changing world. Through this project’s multiple phases and scientifically led by the Fraunhofer ISI, teams consisting of mainly asylum and migration experts from the EUAA, asylum authorities of several EU+ countries, the European Commission (DG HOME, Joint Research Centre), Frontex, Europol, UNHCR and ICMPD created a set of coherent future scenarios – narratives that enable policy and decision makers to better perceive and respond to the complexity and uncertainty of possible futures.

The scenario development process began with the identification of a number of factors that were both external to the EU+ countries and driving change in international protection. Over the course of three workshops, EUAA experts together with representatives of national asylum authorities and partner EU institutions assessed the boundaries of each factor’s possible development in the future and constructed several constellations of these fundamental factors. Such constellations of the fundamental factors were further refined and turned into four unique and viable future scenarios.

Finally, a Delphi survey gathered quantitative and qualitative expert feedback on the likelihood and time-scale for critical aspects of each scenario.

In addition to the process benefits for the people involved, the following results are now publicly available in the reports:

Overview of critical influencing factors and possible development paths;
Four scenario narratives outlining the option space for the next ten years;
Persona descriptions supporting the immersion in the respective scenario;
Results of a Delphi survey on critical aspects of the four scenarios;
Compilation of wildcards and their significance in the context of the scenarios; and
Critical challenges for actors in the context of international protection for individual scenarios and across all scenarios

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Posted on: 09/12/2024

Last Edited: 2 months ago

Foresight towards the 2nd Strategic Plan for Horizon EuropeJune 2021 - May 2023

This foresight study aimed at supporting the development of the Strategic Plan of Horizon Europe (2025-2027), by providing early-stage strategic intelligence and sense-making that could contribute novel elements to the processes of strategic planning.

The study, which was launched in mid-2021 and lasted almost two years, has been the most widely engaging foresight exercise yet aiming to support EU R&I policy. Through this broad engagement, the study did not only develop intelligence for the 2nd Strategic Plan of Horizon Europe but also contributed to the development of an EU R&I foresight community hosted by futures4europe.eu, one that is an asset for future R&I policies across Europe.

The foresight process in support of the 2nd Strategic Plan comprised a wide spectrum of activities:

  • As a reference point for the exploratory work, the explicit and implicit impact assumptions of the 1st Strategic Plan were identified and visualised with the help of a qualitative system analysis and modelling tool for causal loop analysis.
  • An exploratory analysis of forward-looking sources (e.g. foresight reports, web-based horizon scanning) was conducted to identify relevant trends and signals of unexpected developments. These were discussed in online workshops and on futures4europe.eu.
  • An outlook on emerging developments in the global and European context of EU R&I policy was developed drawing on a major online workshop in autumn 2021 with some 60 participants, experts and policy makers, who worked with multi-level context scenarios and specific context narratives about emerging disruptions.
  • On that basis and in close consultation with the European Commission involving another major workshop in February 2022 which brought together 80 participants, Expert Teams were set up to develop disruptive scenarios in five areas of major interest. Each team ran several internal workshops but also involved further experts and Commission staff in their work, both through the online platform and through a final policy-oriented workshop. The foresight work within the five areas of interest resulted in deep dives on the following topics:
    > Climate change, Research, and Innovation: Radical Options from Social Change to Geoengineering
    > Hydrogen Economy – A radical alternative
    > The EU in a Volatile New World - The challenge of global leadership
    > Global Commons
    > Transhumanist Revolutions
  • Further areas of interest identified were explored through review papers aiming to capture major trends, developments and scenario sketches in relation to further disruptive developments:
    > Social Confrontations
    > Artificial General Intelligence: Issues and Opportunities
    > The Interpenetration of Criminal and Lawful Economic Activities
    > The Future of Health
  • A third major workshop took place in October 2022 bringing together all the thematic strands of work and addressing possible R&I policy implications from this work. Participation in this workshop reached 250 individuals over 2 days.
  • Building on the workshop, the online Dynamic Argumentative Delphi survey Research4Futures collected suggestions from almost 950 contributors from Europe and beyond about the implications of this foresight work for the priorities of EU R&I policy.

The detailed description of the foresight work and the resulting outputs are available in the final report of the project.

This foresight study has been implemented through the Foresight on Demand framework contract, by a team of 40 experts. About 300 additional experts contributed to the project through its numerous workshops that helped shape the scenarios and their policy implications. 

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Posted on: 21/10/2024

Last Edited: 2 months ago

Future risks

Decision makers are faced with a world characterised by increasing turbulence, uncertainty, novelty, and ambiguity. These conditions make it more difficult to assess risks when making strategic decisions or planning for the long-term. This project from the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) EU Policy Lab starting 2023 presents a foresight approach to increase preparedness for unexpected developments and the risks they could create.

Foresight methods offer a way to consider and focus on risks that may be beyond the scope of traditional quantitative and qualitative risk assessment approaches. Several snapshots of the future depict different worlds that have undergone substantial changes as a consequence of emerging developments. An analysis of the risks inherent in the possible futures identified ten risk clusters that are relevant for decision makers, and mapped future developments that might lead to them.The same development pathways that could lead to risks can also create opportunities, and the study provides some examples. Decision makers face the challenge of mitigating the adverse effects of risks, while reaping the benefits of potential opportunities. This study also presents the results of a Delphi survey that evaluated the scope and severity of risks. Three of the 40 risks identified in this study were assessed to be potentially existential for humanity: 1) environmental degradation, 2) environmental disasters, and 3) loss of power by humans. The project started in 2023 and will run until 2024. Next in the development is an engagement tool for policymakers to push the boundaries of foresight on risks in their specific policy making domain. Stay tuned for its launch, later in autumn 2024! 

Download the Risks on the horizon report  

Read the blog post from the authors  

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Posted on: 31/10/2024

Last Edited: 4 days ago

4CF The Futures Literacy Company

4CF The Futures Literacy Company is a consultancy entirely focused on strategic foresight and long-term strategies. For nearly two decades, 4CF has been on the mission to help its clients prepare for an uncertain tomorrow. The Company has executed hundreds of projects for private companies, public institutions and international entities, including the European Commission and its agencies (EUDA, ENISA), FAO, UNFCCC, UNESCO, UNEP and UNDP. 4CF is at the forefront of global innovation, and actively contributes to the development of cutting-edge foresight tools, including 4CF HalnyX (Delphi platform), 4CF Sprawlr, 4CF FLEx.

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Posted on: 17/12/2024

Last Edited: 6 days ago

EU Policy Lab

The EU Policy Lab is a space for cross-disciplinary exploration and innovation in policymaking. We apply collaborative, systemic and forward-looking approaches to help bringing the scientific knowledge of the Joint Research Centre into EU policymaking.

We experiment with the new, the unprecedented and the unknown. We seek to augment our understanding of the present, challenge and reinvent the way we think about the future.

The EU Policy Lab is also a mindset and a way of working together that combines stories and data, anticipation and analysis, imagination and action. We bring new practical and radical perspectives to tackle complex problems in a collaborative way. Together, we explore, connect and ideate to create better policies.

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Posted on: 16/12/2024

Last Edited: a month ago

DLR Project Management Agency (DLR-PT)

German service provider for the management of research, education and innovation

Posted on: 25/11/2024

Last Edited: a month ago

Austrian Institute of Technology

AIT Center for Innovation Systems & Policy

The AIT Austrian Institute of Technology is Austria's largest non-university research institution and is the specialist among European research institutions for the central infrastructure topics of the future. With its seven centres, the AIT sees itself as a highly specialised research and development partner for industry in the fields of Energy, Health & Bioresources, Digital Safety & Security, Vision, Automation & Control, Low-Emission Transport, Technology Experience and Innovation Systems & Policy. Around 1,500 employees throughout Austria conduct research to develop the tools, technologies and solutions for Austria's economy.

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Posted on: 25/11/2024

Last Edited: a month ago

Fraunhofer ISI

Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI

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Posted on: 20/11/2024