In this comprehensive and critical Handbook, cross-cutting analytical chapters explore the emergence and positioning of foresight, common approaches and methods, organisational issues, and the scope for policy transfer and evaluation. Leading experts and practitioners contribute chapters analysing experiences in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the USA, Japan, China, Latin America, small European nations, Nordic countries and selected developing countries. The book concludes with consideration of the future of foresight itself.
Cross-cutting analytical chapters explore the emergence and positioning of foresight, approaches and methods, organisational issues, policy transfer and evaluation.
This Handbook provides a comprehensive overview of technology assessment (TA) practices, theories, methods and cultures across the globe. Highlighting the significant influence of rapidly changing technology on human life and development, it examines diverse perspectives on how TA can be developed to better meet the challenges of the future. This title contains one or more Open Access chapters.
Innovation underpins competitiveness, is crucial to addressing societal challenges, and its support has become a major public policy goal. But what really works in innovation policy, and why? This Handbook, compiled by leading experts in the field, is the first comprehensive guide to understanding the logic and effects of innovation polices. The Handbook develops a conceptualisation and typology of innovation policies, presents meta-evaluations for 16 key innovation policy instruments and analyses evidence on policy-mix. For each policy instrument, underlying rationales and examples are presented, along with a critical analysis of the available impact evidence. Providing access to primary sources of impact analysis, the book offers an insightful assessment of innovation policy practice and its evaluation.
Decision-makers at all levels are being confronted with novel complexities and uncertainties and face long-term challenges which require foresight about long-term future prospects, assumptions, and strategies. This book explores how foresight studies can be systematically undertaken and used in this context. It explicates why and how methods like horizon scanning, scenario planning, and roadmapping should be applied when dealing with high levels of uncertainty. The scope of the book moves beyond “narrow” technology foresight, towards addressing systemic interrelations between social, technological, economic, environmental, and political systems. Applications of foresight tools to such fields as energy, cities, health, transportation, education, and sustainability are considered as well as enabling technologies including nano-, bio-, and information technologies and cognitive sciences. The approaches will be illustrated with specific actual cases.
'A great book to understand and foster innovation at all levels: a truly innovative piece of work.' Enrico Giovannini, Minister of Labour and Social Policies, Italy 'This book brings together original contributions from world leading experts on innovation indicators and is unique in several respects. First, the focus is upon innovation in terms of commercialized products and processes and not on secondary indicators of research or patenting. Second, it combines academic perspectives with user perspectives from industry and international organizations. Third, it strikes a good balance between old and new indicators, opening up new dimensions of innovation for measuring. It is a book worth reading for scholars studying innovation, for policy makers and, not least, for innovation managers in the private sector.' Bengt-Åke Lundvall, Aalborg University, Denmark and Sciences-Po, Paris, France This Handbook comprehensively examines indicators and statistical measurement related to innovation (as defined in the OECD/Eurostat Oslo Manual). It deals with the development and the use of innovation indicators to support decision-making and is written by authors who are practitioners, who know what works and what does not, in order to improve the development of indicators to satisfy future policy needs. This unique volume presents: the historical and geographical context for innovation indicators and measurement practical examples of how measurement is actually undertaken new areas of innovation indicators and measurement, including consumer innovation, public sector innovation and social innovation. This informative Handbook will appeal to policy makers in government departments, statistical offices and research institutes and international organizations such as the EU, OECD and the UN, as well as university departments of economics, sociology, law, science and technology, and public policy.
Many organizations in both the private and public sector are confronted with stiff challenges as they face rapid changes in the business environment. Understanding the causes of these changes is essential if organizations are to fashion suitable management responses. In a highly competitive and globalized scenario, business creativity provides the spark that fosters the development and implementation of innovation and organizational change. Increased understanding of the concepts of business creativity and strategic innovation management provides valuable insights into how organizations can change to meet new challenges. The book aims to: explain the nature of the acceleration in discontinuous change that is affecting the Western business environment emphasise the importance of taking a strategic approach to management responses to encourage creative and innovative skills indicate how a detailed strategic plan can be developed to support organizations intent on profitable survival in the twenty-first century. This textbook will be the perfect accompaniment to postgraduate courses on innovation management and creativity management. The wide-ranging approach means that the book will also be useful supplementary reading on a range of courses from management of technology to strategic management.
The application of foresight to address the challenges of uncertainty and rapid change has grown dramatically in the past decade. In that period, the techniques have been greatly refined and the scope has been broadened to encompass future-oriented technology analysis (FTA) and more recently, the concept and practice of strategic intelligence. FTA addresses directly the longer-term future through the active and continuous development of visions, and pathways to realise these visions. It is increasingly seen as a valuable management and policy tool complementing, and extending further into the future, classical strategy, planning, and decision-making approaches. This book charts the development of FTA and provides the first coherent description and analysis of its practical application and impact in the worlds of business, government, education and research in both advanced and developing countries. It draws on papers addressing the application of FTA around the globe which were presented at the Second International Seville Seminar in September 2006. The insights and practical experience will be invaluable for company managers, government ministers and officials, researchers and academics with responsibilities for effective planning and decision-making in an increasingly turbulent and unpredictable world.
This insightful Handbook emphasizes the unique contribution that Futures Studies offers when understanding and managing current situations. Contributing authors argue that by learning to examine the future in the present, individuals and organizations can expand their abilities to analyze, assess and ultimately make better decisions. This title contains one or more Open Access chapters.
The book gives practical guidance for policy makers, analysts and researchers on how to make the most of the potential of Foresight studies. Based on the concept of evidence-based policy-making, Foresight studies are common practice in many countries and are commonly understood as a supportive tool in designing future-oriented strategies. The book outlines approaches and experiences of integrating such Foresight studies in the making and implementation of science, technology and innovation (STI) policies at different national levels. It delivers insights into practical approaches of developing STI policy measures oriented towards future societal and technological challenges based on evidence drawn from comparable policy measures worldwide. Authors from leading academic institutions, international organizations and national governments provide a sound theoretical foundation and framework as well as checklists and guidelines for leveraging the potential impact of STI policies.
