4th eForesee
International Conference

Exploring the role of Foresight and related policy tools in the development of a Euro-Mediterranean Research and Innovation Area

Malta, 13-14 November 2003

This final International e-Foresee Conference will draw upon the insights of experts from Europe and the Mediterranean region & lessons learned from seven e-Foresee foresight pilot projects to continue and build upon strategic conversations started in the EU Presidency Conference at Ioannina. At this site one can buy term papers online or seek necessary resources to gain an understanding of a new topic.

These conversations concern the role of foresight and other tools of participative policy development, to renew and improve RTD and Innovation policy processes in both public and private sectors, in a Euro-Mediterranean context and in anticipation of the emergence of a Euro-Mediterranean Research Area. These conversations consider issues such as the 'governance' of Innovation systems made up of autonomous players from private public sectors, with a capacity to act at a local, national and regional level, the emergence of region-wide (Euro-Med) networks, the emergence of venture capital providers, incubators and other intermediaries in the region, the implication of modern thinking about social capital and social innovation for each of these current trends as well as the need for new forms of public-private partnership.

The Conference will adopt a workshop style where high-level policy-makers, senior corporate players, venture capitalists as well as technologists and social scientists will have the opportunity to interact with foresight experts and practitioners. The aim is to attract an equal balance of representation from the southern and northern Euro-Mediterranean countries, allowing for an open exchange of experiences on foresight and foresight-type activity from the North and South.

The Conference will focus on foresight as a form of strategic intelligence in addressing common innovation policy priorities:

• Policy and Governance for Networked Innovation Systems
• Public-Private Sector Perspectives and Partnerships
• Supporting and Sourcing Innovation and the Role of Intermediaries

Target Audience

• High-level policy-makers, academic leaders and senior corporate players
• Foresight experts and practitioners
• Representatives of Euro-Mediterranean networks active in the innovation policy area
• Representatives of public-private sector partnerships
• Representatives of intermediaries and venture capital organizations

Background

The last 10 years have witnessed considerable progress in the development of RTD and Innovation systems throughout the Mediterranean region - not only in EU member states but also in neighboring countries such as Malta, Cyprus, Turkey, Tunisia, Morocco and Jordan. Undeniable progress has been made in the development of RTD systems, the introduction of innovative forms of financing and the emergence of professional intermediaries such as innovation centers and incubators to support university spin-offs and new-technology-based-firms. In most cases however these innovation systems are still at an early stage of development, a stage where the various components are still in the process of establishing and positioning themselves in both national and international contexts, building links with one another and learning how best to cooperate at a systemic level.

Nowadays such linkages are considered a form of 'Social Capital'. The development of new working practices that rely on such linkages is thought of as a form of 'Social Innovation'. Foresight especially 'process oriented' foresight can be thought of as a tool for developing social capital and facilitating social innovation. This places foresight at the center of the next phase of development of systems of RTD and Innovation in the Euro-Mediterranean region. The goal of this Conference is to recognize current trends and recent achievements in the development of Euro-Mediterranean innovation systems, to explore the role that foresight and other participative tools for policy development could play to enhance the performance of innovation systems in the Mediterranean region and introduce the working practices that will help them harness opportunities provided by the European Research Area.

Key topics for discussion:

• Current challenges faced by science and innovation policy makers in helping to establish alliances among the different players and cultures of the innovation systems.
• Current challenges faced by intermediaries in defining their mission and targeting their services to both academic and business sector actors.
• Current challenges faced by academics in areas of industrial significance in getting access to opportunities for commercialization - IT, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, manufacture, logistics, food production etc.
• Current challenges faced by venture capital funds in identifying hi-tech investment prospects.

You are invited to make a preliminary registration to participate in this event. You will be automatically put on the mailing list for subsequent announcements. Please register your interest by sending an e-mail to the following email address: