forward studies unit to the latvian union of scientists

FORWARD STUDIES UNITFORWARD STUDIES UNITto the Latvian Union of Scientiststo the Latvian Union of Scientists

KS Information Series I:Foresight for an Enlarged Europe

Presentation projectby Dr . Arturs Puga,

Head of UnitMay, 2003

[email protected]

The Ioannina Manifesto for the Knowledge Based Societies

of an Enlarged Europe

http://medlab.cs.uoi.gr/conf2003/background.htm

“FORESIGHT IN THE ENLARGED EUROPEAN RESEARCH AND

INNOVATION AREA”IOANNINA, Greece, 15 – 16 May, 2003

'If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favourable.‘'If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favourable.‘ SenecaSeneca the younger the younger

The future of foresight cooperation in an enlarged EU: the Ioannina conference manifesto.Cordis News.[[Date: 2003-05-19]Date: 2003-05-19]

The Ioannina Conference for The Ioannina Conference for the Future the Future

Knowledge Based SocietiesKnowledge Based Societies of of an an Enlarged Enlarged EEuropeurope the website info the website info

More than 200 high level people from European and national institutions, industry, academia, users, societal actors, as well as the national and regional authorities of the current and future Member States, join forces in exchanging valuable experiences and expertise to form best practices and propose actions to exploit Foresight in building the future Knowledge Based Societies in the Enlarged European Research and Innovation Area.

The Conference constitutes a platform for exchanges of experience and best practices on Foresight exercises on European, national or regional levels, and their impact on enlargement countries. Nevertheless, the challenge is set even higher.

It is time that concrete actions are proposed to enhance the integration of Foresight results in policy-making, strengthening democratisation processes in governance, and to coordinate national / regional efforts in building the future Knowledge Based Societies of the Enlarged European Union.

The conference's aspiration results in the approval of the Ioannina Manifesto for

Cooperation in Foresight.

TThe final acthe final act of the ' of the 'foresightforesight in an enlarged European research and in an enlarged European research and innovation area' conference in Ioannina, Greece, on 16 May innovation area' conference in Ioannina, Greece, on 16 May waswas to look to look

ahead and consider a common vision for future cooperationahead and consider a common vision for future cooperation in in foresightforesight, as outlined in the Ioannina conference manifesto, as outlined in the Ioannina conference manifesto

http://medlab.cs.uoi.gr/conf2003/forum_see.asphttp://medlab.cs.uoi.gr/conf2003/forum_see.asp

After agreeing on some minor changes, including an increased emphasis on the impact of foresight on industry, the final text was overwhelmingly approved.

Following the approval of the manifesto, CORDIS News spoke with a number of delegates at the conference and asked for their thoughts on the objectives and outcomes of the event.

Dimitris Deniozos, the Greek General Secretary for research and development, emphasised that through the involvement of senior European politicians at the event, the general understanding of the role and importance of foresight among policy makers had been improved.

CORDIS NewsCORDIS News

'Furthermore, this event was focussed particularly on the methodology of foresight, rather than simply the creation of future scenarios, and was thus of great benefit,' he said.

Mr Deniozos also highlighted the suitability of Ioannina as a location for the conference, due to its historical importance as the site of the Oracle of Zeus over 2,500 years ago: 'The existence of monuments to ancient foresight activities alongside this conference shows that the concept is not simply a fashionable modern invention, but a long standing human phenomenon.'

Dr Raoul Kneucker, a Director General at the Austrian Ministry for Education, Science and Culture, said that, importantly, the conference had enabled the identification of next steps the identification of next steps for increasing European for increasing European foresightforesight cooperation cooperation. 'These will include national foresight studies Member States and especially candidate countries, a similar exercise at an EU level, and the benchmarking of foresight policies and practices,' he argued. Dr Kneucker also said that the presence of key EU representatives will have given the Commission a much clearer idea of the content of upcoming calls for proposalsfor foresight initiatives under FP6.

CORDIS NewsCORDIS News

Ioannina Conference Manifesto Ioannina Conference Manifesto for Foresight Cooperation in an Enlarged European for Foresight Cooperation in an Enlarged European

Research and Innovation AreResearch and Innovation Areaa

TEXTTEXT On 16 April 2003 in Athens, ten new countries joined the European

Union and signed the "Athens Declaration". In the enlarging Europe foresight convergence of perceptions is becoming an imperative as new countries with different socio-economic systems, religions and traditions gradually become part of the European area of progress and innovation. The phenomenon will be magnified with the expected further enlargement of Europe with other Balkan and Mediterranean countries in the future. The knowledge-based societies of the future cannot be built in isolation. Foresight can constitute the vehicle on which this collaboration can set off.

Manifesto Manifesto for Foresight Cooperation for Foresight Cooperation

Today's world is more than ever characterized by increased complexity and multi-disciplinarity in science and technology priority setting and policy-making, and there is urgent need for efficient communication and effective cooperation between scientists, policy-makers and businesses in all sectors of the economy. On the other hand, the implications of science and technology, intended or unintended, go beyond the borders of laboratories and specific markets and increasingly affect people’s every-day lives. Society has been witnessing the positive but also the negative implications of scientific discoveries and at significant costs on several occasions. The new approach to European Governance in the making is among other things based on the active role of society in the dialogue between scientists and policy-makers.


Foresight addresses the above important issues in a constructive manner. It visualises the long-term future of science, technology, society, economy and their mutual interactions, and by shaping commonly desired futures, it plays an instrumental role in enabling effective communication links across the organizational boundaries of policy makers, industrial and market activity areas and society. Finally, foresight strengthens democratisation in governance by embedding societal concerns in policy-making.


In addition, cooperation in foresight is dictated by the need for open coordination in developing the European Research and Innovation Area and in achieving the target of the EU to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world. Science, technological development and innovation are implicitly or explicitly based on visions of the future. Developing jointly such visions is a necessity for a balanced development of the European Union, but also for promoting a prosperous and peaceful environment at planetary level. Europeans have the challenge to lead the way.


European co-operation in foresight has been initiated at various levels : through the research Framework programmes of the EU (which support the activities of the Institute of Prospective Technological Studies of the Joint Research Centre as well as the various indirect actions managed by the Research Directorate General of the European Commission), the European Parliamentary Technology Assessment (EPTA) network links up Parliamentary Technology Assessment bodies of Europe who are concerned to enhance the products and experiences of their work with other similar organisations, the European Science Foundation (ESF) recently introduced its "Forward Looks" instrument to enable Europe's scientific community to develop medium to long term views and analyses of future research developments in multidisciplinary topics, and interact with policy makers from member organisations.


Therefore, we the participants in the Ioannina Conference on "Foresight Cooperation in an Enlarged European Research and Innovation Area" organised under the aegis of the Hellenic presidency of the European Union, expressing our personal views and without committing the governments or organisations we represent, believe that the foresight community in Europe should further work towards the achievement of a number of priority objectives such as to:

priority objectivespriority objectives

Continue and further strengthen the reflection of foresight practitioners and S&T policy makers to better understand future developments in an enlarged Europe.

Promote foresight cooperation between EU countries and with candidate, accession and other neighbouring countries in the Mediterranean basin in order to transfer know how and benefit from others’ experiences;


Establish structures to exploit best practices and facilitate communication among key actors;

Promote foresight in higher education and research institutions in order to prepare the new generation of researchers and academics knowledgeable in foresight;


Continuously monitor and assess foresight exercises at national/regional and European level and develop common evaluation schemes leading to benchmarking;

Further promote the use of the new instruments under Framework Programme 6 for achieving co-operation in foresight and explore closer relationships between foresight and civil society.

Manifesto Manifesto for Foresight Cooperationfor Foresight Cooperation

The Ioannina conference has provided an open forum for all stakeholders to discuss the future of foresight exercises and their relation with economy and society. Driven by the above issues and necessities, we the participants of the Ioannina Conference, agree to promote cooperation in foresight within our area of influence, declare our determination for making it a reality, and:

Invite decision makers in EU Member States, Candidate and neighbouring countries, European institutions and in particular the European Commission:

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decision makersdecision makers To further coordinate their efforts with a view to

reinforce foresight cooperation at European, national and regional level and promote coordination with similar exercises in Europe, in particular in countries, regions or areas in a broader sense, with mutual interests in and benefits from foresight cooperation. Particular emphasis should be given to the needs of candidate countries, current or forthcoming.

To promote new forms of foresight cooperation and new

initiatives at broader peripheral or cross-regional level, for candidate or neighbouring countries such as the Mediterranean countries.

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decision makersdecision makers

To promote the establishment of Foresight Observatories per major geographic areas with resources coming from the scientific world, the policy-makers, the industry and societal groups.

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To promote the establishment of a Pan-European Forum for Foresight and Civil Society Cooperation amongst the different constellations of areas with the aim to discuss the various approaches and results obtained while taking into account the priorities taken at EU level such as those of the Science and Society Action Plan, in particular the successful CREST Clustering exercise. Depending on the specific theme explored everytime, this Forum could take different configurations.

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To promote the linkage of the countries' or regions' individual initiatives with those taken at the initiative of the European Commission in benefit of coordination and multiplication of impacts.

To reinforce the involvement of parliamentary and other similar bodies to consider the organization of public participation in foresight.

Invite foresight stakeholders in academia, industry, Invite foresight stakeholders in academia, industry, institutions, government and civil societyinstitutions, government and civil society

To define scientific, technological and social fields of common interest, reflecting the national priorities, strengths and opportunities, but putting emphasis on certain priorities that are commonly adopted by all e.g. sustainable development, environment and quality of life.

To further embed science and society issues in foresight research as a prerequisite for enhancing public awareness and opinion making on science and technology as a developmental element, and for responding to emerging crises as well as for improving governance.


To strengthen the transfer of valuable foresight knowledge and experience across countries and regions aiming to increase cohesion within the enlarged European Union in particular through the new Community Support Framework.


To exploit all the instruments of the 6th Framework Programme, and in particular the new tools: ERA-net, the Networks of Excellence (NoI), the Integrated Projects, the Coordination Actions (CA) or the Specific Support Actions (SSAs), to map national priorities and interests emerging from national R&D or other programmes and activities of the Community Support Frameworks, set up projects, clusters of countries and areas with mutual benefits for foresight cooperation and where appropriate, establish Foresight Observatories in specific scientific, technological and social fields.

Ioannina Conference Ioannina Conference for Foresight Cooperation in an Enlarged European for Foresight Cooperation in an Enlarged European

Research and Innovation AreResearch and Innovation AreaaTHE END OF MANIFESTOTHE END OF MANIFESTO

Foresight refers to the 'basis' and its success depends on the 'basis'. The overall aim of foresight cooperation should be outlined in a single phrase: "increase democracy in governance and in building a more powerful Europe".

Foresight cooperation, nevertheless, should not be a

goal in itself. It should serve the need for national/regional

systems to open up and allow for coordination and

collaboration, and should also serve the aim to inform, sensitise, encourage and support people in getting

actively involved in shaping the future they desire in the world

they live in.

European Knowledge European Knowledge SocietySociety Foresight Foresight- a Handbook of - a Handbook of

MethodologyMethodology

European Knowledge European Knowledge SocietySociety Foresight Foresight- a Handbook of - a Handbook of

MethodologyMethodology

November 2002

PREST and FFRC

for the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions

Foresight

Informing and legitimising action,

establishing preparedness

Sharing visions. Exchanging knowledge, mutual understanding...

Identifying indicators and determining goals, evaluation processes

and mechanisms

Foresight’s triple base

Strategic action plansStrategic action plans

Planning tools and techniques, priority setting,

etc.

Futures reports, scenarios, forecasts and visions

Futures reports, scenarios, forecasts and visions

Futures methods,

forecasting techniques, modelling & visionary

approaches, etc.

Broadening participation, establishing and reinforcing

networksNetworking tools and techniques,

groupwork and facilitation, survey approaches, etc.

Fore-

sight FuturesPlan-ning

Network-ing

Foresight as a ProcessForesight as a Process

Renewal

Pre-Foresight

RecruitmentGeneration

Action

Experts

PanelsIntelligence Gathering

Knowledge FusingVisioning

Targeting

Synthesis

Dissemination

Implementation

Stakeholders

Scoping

Foresight as a Process: Foresight as a Process: methodsmethods

Renewal

PreForesight

RecruitmentGeneration

Action

Monitoring

Management

Evaluation

HANDBOOK OF KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY FORESIGHTHANDBOOK OF KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY FORESIGHT

http://les.man.ac.uk/PREST/euforia/handbook.htmhttp://les.man.ac.uk/PREST/euforia/handbook.htm

http://les.man.ac.uk/PREST/euforia/documents/EFL_Handbook_April_2003.pdfhttp://les.man.ac.uk/PREST/euforia/documents/EFL_Handbook_April_2003.pdf

FORESIGHTING EUROPE

http://www.cordis.lu/foresight/newsletter.htm

EUROPEAN FORESIGHT ACADEMY

http://www.jrc.es/projects/foresightacademy/pages/previousevents.html

http://www.jrc.es/projects/foresightacademy/pages/workshopslides.html

Forward Studies Unit Forward Studies Unit in Rigain Riga

would highly appreciate all comments, improvements and

proposals in the context of the development of future studies and

foresight in Latvia returning Europe.

[email protected]

Updated July 2003

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forward studies unit to the latvian union of scientists

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