business foresight and acumen
authorities and private companies in the strategic decision making process.
Public authorities and the business community need a specific tool to predict technological change, to define their strategy, and to take the best decisions. Technological Foresight is one such tool.
Technology Foresight is used by many countries in the Science and Technology priority-setting process. It can be defined as a systematic process to identify key future technologies in order to aid in policy making, planning, and decision-taking. Although the objectives of national Technological Foresight studies differ, one or more of the following are found in most studies. These are create a common vision for society, identify future technologies, guide future technological development, and provide "intelligence".
Technology Forecasting is forecasting the Future State of technology, extent of use probabilistic predictions of future technological developments.
Technology Assessment Consequences of deploying new technology including secondary effects. Anticipating future societal impacts of known new and existing technologies. Technology Foresight Determination of demand related technological profile of possible/probable/ preferred futures.
New trends can be both a threat and an opportunity for business. Companies need to be able to anticipate the future in order to foresee new market opportunities and possible new technologies that might affect the products, services and customers and thus the strategies of the companies them selves.
Foresight can provide tools and techniques to help businesses think ahead into the future. It can enhance regional networks of forward thinking businesses, helping them to learn from each others experiences, as well as provide information on future opportunities and threats facing the countries key sectors.
Specifically Technology Foresight can help:
 Identify the direction of the business
 Get new perspective on future markets and changes in customers needs
 Look beyond the normal sector boundaries
 Plug into networks which can open up new markets and ideas for improving existing products and services
 Get direct access to knowledge and scientific, technical and managerial expertise which can help develop new products or exploit new markets
 Get advanced warning of emerging technologies
 Make better investment decisions by having a clearer idea of future possibilities and reducing the uncertain
A central purpose of TF is both to prepare for and try to affect the future. Therefore, the estimation of future tendencies in order to early carry out all necessary actions to influence and adjust future events is an important ingredient of TF. The foresight process involves the specification of the possibilities generated by technological development and also a definition of the demands that this puts on several sectors of the society. Based on that identification, TF defines the most efficient relationships between technological possibilities and the current economical and social needs of the community. Moreover, the organization and carrying through of TF has a value in itself since it brings representatives from the industry, academy and public sectors together in the search for a common view of the future.
Technology Foresight Methods
The TF studies around the world differ both with respect to preferred methodologies, objectives and their temporal [next page]