strategy

Strategy

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Strategy (806)
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and provide information to allow adaptation of strategies. The article describes the F. Scapolo/Technological forecasting

Thirdly, they must be able to deliver insights on possible strategies and options for individual actors on how to change course and direction,

or at least enable to think out of the box about qualitatively different approaches and strategies. The purpose is to develop new things,

and be brought down to the level of individual actors'strategies. As a consequence, we propose combining phases of open participation with closed processes of targeted strategy development.

Further, it provides a more modest and hence more powerful basis for informing strategic decisions because it stresses both the need to adapt to changes in the environment

and that their strategies need to take the strategic behaviour of other actors into account.

which external developments (such as the strategies of other actors but also exogenous developments) can vary. And it is enhanced by coherent actions of a range of key decisionmakker in research policy, economy and society.

whether this kind of argument is applied to company strategies or to national policies: it implies a need to accept a quite limited power to control the future.

the subsequent processes of strategy development still lack a similar level of sophistication, for instance in terms of deriving basic strategies for dealing with the opportunities and threats that have been identified in the context of foresight exercises.

At the same time, foresight is required increasingly to deliver coherent and coordinated support to the formulation of strategic agendas for action

adaptive planning provides a framework for developing forward-looking strategies and options for individual actors. Thirdly, adaptive planning takes into account the accumulation of knowledge

I dislike Adaptive strategies can be said to be strategically opportunistic, and in technology and innovation policy they are criticised sometimes on the ground that they fail to provide the commitment necessary for, e g.,

experiences were made with Strategic Niche Management19 and Transition Management20 as approaches to devise forward-looking policy strategies for long-term transformations of infrastructure and sectoral innovation systems towards sustainability.

These projects focused on strategy and programme development in research, technology and innovation policy, and stressed the interdependenciie with other policy areas and other innovation actors.

and most recently, several projects have been conducted in the Austrian context, dealing with strategy development for research, technology and innovation policy at national and regional level. 21 These projects stress in particular the need to understand Adaptive foresight as a continuous monitoring,

goals and an strategies at different levels to actual developments in reality. Also this is an immediate consequence of and an input into adaptive planning.

and stakeholders Adaptive foresight is designed to help decision-makers develop strategies. You can do a research project usingmany of the ideas from AF,

however, when individual actors need to make up theirminds about their strategies and concrete decisions, such forwardloookin consultations need to be kept internal to the client organisation23

Finally, when it comes to implementing strategies, an opening up of forward-looking processesmay be necessary again,

First of all, one needs to clarify the focal issue of the strategy development exercise, i e. the main question or problem that the addressee of an exercise would like to have tackled.

identification of collective strategies (portfolio analysis) So far, individual scenarios have been developed, refined and analysed. Each of the scenarios and pathways can be characterised in terms of technologies

identification of individual strategies (portfolio analysis) In analogy to Phase 8, this is the counterpart at the individual client organisation level of Phase 7. 3. 2. 11.

and fed back to strategy development. In other words, AF should be interpreted as part of a broader continuous learning process that comprises the implementation and evaluation of specific policy measures as well as a monitoring of relevant developments in policy at large.

Strategy development, policy design, implementation and learning should thus not be understood as distinctly separate phases but rather as a continuous process of mutual adjustment.

because in particular public policy strategies fulfill an orienting function for many private actors as well, and in the best case play an implicit coordinating function for their decision-making.

but at best be repeated every few years, for instance in line with an update of the overall technology and innovation policy strategy.

what is still missing is the integration of these methods in a continuous and long-term strategy development process.

it makes forward-looking policy strategies more realistic by acknowledging the limitations to actively shaping the future,

as reflected in the notion of adaptive elements in strategies and path-dependence in the context of scenario development;

. A. Eriksson, Scenario-based methodologies for strategy development and management of change, in: M.-O. Olsson, G. Sjöstedt (Eds.

University of Twente/IPTS, Enschede, 1999 Sevilla. 38 R. Hoogma, K. M. Weber, B. Elzen, Integrated long-term strategies to induce regime shifts to sustainability:

Innovation Vienna Strategy for Research, Technology and Innovation, Vienna, 2007.43 K. M. Weber, A. Geyer, D. Schartinger, P. Wagner, Zukunft der Mobilität in Österreich.

C. Eden, F. Ackerman, Making Strategy: The Journey of Strategic management, Sage Publications, London, 1998.49 R. Popper,

and monitoring their performance (i e. data gathering and reporting strategies) and practices to review existing regulations.

and a need to look for further methodological improvements towards regulatory foresights focusing on future strategies and actions concerning regulation and the special needs of regulatory bodies.

Multi-path mapping for alignment strategies in emerging science and technologies Douglas K. R. Robinson a,,

Strategy support system; Constructive technology assessmentavailable online at www. sciencedirect. com Technological forecasting & Social Change 75 (2008) 517 538 Corresponding author.

and Emerging s&t and have to develop strategies in the early stages of an emerging situation.

which allow the Frontiers network to develop strategies for a number of different issues relevant to particular areas within nanotechnologies for the life sciences.

and 2. exploring strategies for specific actor groups (SMES and researchers. At both intra-organizational (department-level) and inter-organizational levels in technology and industry, roadmapping has become a fashionable alignment tool.

'flexible yet effective strategies may be useful. This element of open-endedness has been discussed by Fiedeler et al. 27 and Fleischer et al. 28 and implemented in MANCEF's (proprietary) roadmap6 22.

multiple actors follow their own paths-as-strategies towards a future of possible (if competing,

A map of paths can be embedded as a central element in a support system to articulate the most robust8 strategy for research groups, start-ups and programme committees (strategic/strategy support system, SSS.

An ongoing strategy support system needs to stay aware of the field, allowing the assessment of

whether the current strategy is optimum or a transition is needed to another strategy open to this particular actor.

In the paper we report on the (ongoing) development and application of the‘multi-path mapping'(MPM) toolset.

The second notion of path is from the perspective of an actor making decisions, developing strategies and taking action.

MPM-1) the technical dimension of the MPM was based on desk research as a map to be used for the Frontiers network to aid strategy articulation in research and science-to-industry linkages,

we facilitated a practitioner strategy articulation workshop. The workshop focused on mapping possible innovation chains and challenges for progressing down the number of possible options.

in order to direct research and seek out possible actors who could co-construct an innovation chain based on the Strategic research Areas of Frontiers. 2. Broadening the perspectives of the practitioners participating in the exercise to test the robustness of MPM as part of a strategy support system

the strategy literature; the general R&d, innovattio management and management literatures; futures studies; organization studies; the S&t policy literature;

as well as the strategies that companies actually use. Shifts of entanglements are possible for actors for some time

but otherwise they are constrained more or less as they are caught up in the very path dynamics at strategy

For reflexive alignment within research networks or firms it would seem advantageous that a‘strategy support system'(SSS) should be developed as a toolbox to be used without external help.

The strategy support systems will be developed further for different technology fields being investigated within the framework of the Frontiers research programme.

This network level strategy support system is somewhat abstract from specific technological issues, such as cell-on-a-chip;

whether to deviate from strategies shown or go along with them. For a company or specific project leader, the path analysis is with respect to developments in research, the business environment, possible users, as well as regulation.

The path they wish to develop strategy for is their company path. The tool can also be used in communities outside of research and technology development but related to its financing, such as venture capitalists.

A very concrete impact on strategy articulation comes from one of the participants a young start-up company initiated in February 2006 with intentions to be the systems integrator of a lab-on-a-chip device focused on a specific application in the medical sector.

Technological change and Company Strategies, Academic Press, London, 1992, pp. 72 102.46 A. Rip, R. Kemp, Technological change, in:

where studies of expectations and paths are combined with strategy articulation tools to provide strategic intelligence for reflexive governance and management of Emerging s&t.

The evolution of strategies to cope with or escape from the negative consequences of a‘risk society'.

The alignment of actors'interests, their active participation in dealing with uncertainty, the development of informed publics and, through all of these, to the evolution of strategies to cope with

Effie Amanatidou holds an MSC in Technical change & Industrial Strategy from PREST/Manchester Institute of Innovation research University of Manchester (UK) and a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics (Greece.

and led the EGIST (Evaluation of Government and Industry Strategies for Technology) group; and Technopolis Ltd, an innovation policy consultancy which he founded in 1989 and which,

The Spring European council meetings, assessing the progress towards the Lisbon strategy, using several indicators on HE performance,

The use of the recommendations e g. strategy formation for a specific university, strategies for the higher education sector in a region, a country or the EU is up to the decision-makers.

which will be shaped partly through deliberate strategies and actions, partly by factors beyond the control of decision-makers. 4,

569 A. Havas/Technological forecasting & Social Change 75 (2008) 558 582 Futures developed in genuine foresight processes can be direct (or positive) inputs for policy preparation or strategy building processes:

Triad Internal strategy Cohesion (societal issues) Competitiveness(‘multi-speed EU')Successful EU A) Double success: A carefully balanced development strategy of the EU, keeping the‘welfare'elements, too, at an EU level

A multi-speed EU strategy in spite of ignoring cohesion fails to close the gap with other Triad regions,

Inappropriate strategies, insufficient co-ordination of various policies, poor implementation and/or external factors lead to an overall failure both in terms of cohesion and performance vis-à-vis

ii) incapability to devise strategies and policies, and/or general inaction, inertia, inefficiency to implement policies.

The actual relevance and use of them is to present stark choices in terms of strategies, and project the future repercussions of the strategic choices made now.

Therefore, by making a strong link between the EU structures and strategies on the one hand and the ERIA, on the other, does not deny the possibility that‘ERIA policies'of the EU can enjoy some level of independence from the overall strategy of the EU. Yet,

it would go beyond the scope of this paper to discuss when this potential‘discrepancy'(or‘mismatch')can be seen as a‘healthy, creative'tension, i e.

which the diversity of universities e g. in terms of the composition of various roles they play, their attitudes, norms and strategies,

and a mutually acceptable way. 32 Universities, obviously, have a certain level of autonomy in choosing their strategies. 33 Teaching activities of these two types of universities,

For sensible future-oriented public policies and sound university strategies a better understanding of the current situation is needed,

this approach can be satisfactory for strategy building. Given the fundamental changes occurring in the surroundings of universities,

or a starting point for actual policy preparation or strategy building exercises by considering different future states first for the EU and the European research and Innovation Area,

who do not want social dialogues on clearly formulated alternative strategies, given the time needed for these processes,

and hence they might be equipped better to devise‘future-proof',robust strategies. In brief, they can‘hold'their own strategic parameters fixed,

As for the choice among types of prospective analyses to support strategy building for universities, several of them can be useful, namely those,

and thus it is recommended to use this particular approach to underpin strategies for universities. By definition, foresight is a participatory process

In other words, implementation of various policy proposals and strategies can be given more effective the commitment of the participants.

Policy 30 (3)( 2001) 509 532.36 B. Kehm, Governance and Strategy, Presentation at a Workshop on Driving forces and Challenges for the European University, Brussels, March 23 24 2006.37

but it also directly aims its messages at policy makers responsible for designing more effective strategies for the deployment of public funds for R&d and those responsible for forecasting where and how to do this no small task indeed!

in order to scrutinize the robustness of specific strategies or as a means to identifying more sustainable futures.

and suggesting implementation strategies 7. In the present paper, we want to build on foresight methods for improving strategic decision making in infrastructures through the method of Regional infrastructure foresight RIF.

and integrate them into the formulation of a long term management strategy for infrastructure development. We will present empirical evidence to support our claims from the experiences of implementing the RIF method in The swiss sanitation sector.

and anticipate risks of established strategies 24, 25. The elaboration of scenarios supports self-reflection and learning as well as strengthens strategic thinking 26 by challenging individual and organizational worldviews 27.

In corporate contexts, innovation oriented foresight focuses on long term product development strategies or market prospects. Here, foresight is geared towards‘exploration'of longer term strategies in innovation management 31.

Mannermaa 22 emphasizes its role for increasing the scope of strategic alternatives in order to allow for exploring consequences of impossible strategies,

23 including disruptive alternatives. Cagnin and Keenan 19 dub this type of approach as mode 2 foresight that allows the consideration of fundamental changes in paradigms

or transport technology scenarios without explicitly assessing adequate strategies 39 43. Others include the assessment of options

we posit that more sustainable development strategies for infrastructures will result. Foresight, according to this understanding, is not planning itself,

At the end of the process, the results are transmitted to the decision makers who then decide about specific strategies. 3. 1. 2. Foresight generation Phase in the generation phase, the exploration of context uncertainties,

This synthesis does still not forestall the final strategy formulation through the decision makers. It rather circumscribes promising search directions for future system configurations

and assess different cooperation strategies within the region of the hydrological catchment of the river Kiese and the neighboring part of the Aare valley.

which then elaborated a long term strategy towards a merger. One year later the political decision making process approved this plan that first foresees an intensified collaboration of joint human resource management leading to joint ownership of facilities

A potential benefit of such an approach would be that regional development strategies could be tackled in a more encompassing way.

and finally the solutions are integrated into a common regional strategy. Thus, regional development could be more intimately related to infrastructure planning in general. 1160 E. Störmer et al./

References 1 I. Dyner, E. R. Larsen, From planning to strategy in the electricity industry, Energy Policy 29 (13)( 2001) 1145 1154.2 D. Dominguez

Collection of EFMN Briefs Part 1, Office for Official Publications of the European commission, Luxembourg, 2008.47 H. J. van Zuylen, K. M. Weber, Strategies for European

As in resilience engineering, the dominant normative safety/risk management strategy is replaced by a natural or adaptive strategy in the new paradigm of risk management.

The link between the opportunity analysis and strategy works of a company becomes evident in the roadmapping process 29.

A strategy to handle this multiplicity requires selection. In the context of the Nordic hydropower production and distribution, for instance, the most threatening scenarios are selected for the risk estimation and evaluation process.

and to create knowledge to help decision making in defining management strategies concerning the changes the future may cause.

The new framework help companies to create climate change strategies. How case studies contributed to risk resilience thinking?

including the links between foresight knowledge, corporate strategy and innovation policy. She graduated in Helsinki University of Technology and holds a Phd from Helsinki Swedish School of economics and Business administration

(c) Ways to account for uncertainty in decision making,(d) Strategies for planning and management of nonlinear systems operating in the chaotic regime,

Managers often do not know what risks are associated with particular strategies. A lot of work is needed here. 5. Planning in nonlinear,

What might be some of these new strategies for management of chaotic systems? Here are thoughts some:

In conjunction with the reform of the Finnish information society strategy, the knowledge society is defined as one where knowledge

Even as follow-up of the High-tech Strategy of the government 2, administrated in the same ministry,

. In order to address objectives 1 and 2, in the foresight approach, well-known search strategies as well as other methods from innovation research,

Especially the online survey which had the function of focussing the topics as well as an assessment function is described in more detail (Fig. 3). 3. 1. Starting phase of the process The process started with 14 broader topic fields that were derived from the German High-tech Strategy 2,

The challenge for the BMBF Foresight process from 2009 onwards was the design of concrete strategies to address some of the topics identified.

which already started in the current context of the High-tech Strategy 2 (www. bmbf. de).

Adaptive foresight is designed to help decision-makers develop strategies. You can do a research project using many of the ideas from AF

The results can be put to use for different strategy building activities on different levels and different objectives (see the reservoir approach 18 or 20).

or strategy 4, 5. Broad participation of societal stakeholders is not an essential requirement, but is becoming more and more a standard practice. 4 At the same time covering a broader range of important social,

9. Ideally, scenario planning helps policy-makers making better sense of changes in their external environment, spotting early warning signals and refining perceptions of existing or emerging problems and corresponding problem-solving strategies 10.

and weaknesses of different problem-solving strategies, make a final selection and formulate the concrete shape of the measure;

BLOSSOM is an acronym for Bridging LONG-TERM Scenario and Strategy analysis Organisation and Methods, where organisation refers to the relevance of the organisational

and strategy analysis 4 A critical distinction needs to be made between quality and quantity of participation.

rehearse and test the acceptability of different strategies without being implicated by the actual constraints of day-to-day policy-making.

Notwithstanding the fact that many strategic policy documents extend their validity beyond legislative cycles (take the case of national sustainable development strategies for example) a short-term,

and insights on the candidate policies or strategies in questions, eliminating less favorable alternative options and focusing on the preferable ones.

A. Volkery, T. Ribeiro/Technological forecasting & Social Change 76 (2009) 1198 1207 UK government's strategy on flood and coastal erosion risk management,

On the other hand, the strategy unit in the Department for Agriculture in The netherlands is an example for an actor in charge of long-term sectoral analysis. A number of other procedural options can be utilized to strengthen the role of scenario planning.

In addition, policy-makers and strategists often have not only different time horizons than scenario planners, but also very different attention foci.

Long-term thinking does not have a uniform relationship with strategy and policy-making. Context is crucial. Many practitioners consider scenario building to be a craft or art of challenging mind-sets in strategic conversations about long-term futures.

increasingly willingness to think innovatively about robust strategies and to more effectively detect early warning signals. But only a handful of studies have evaluated the actual practice.

A Review Of Evaluative Scenario literature, RAND WR-564-EEA, 2008.4 D. Mercer, Robust strategies in a day, Manage.

and develop appropriate governance strategies for nanotechnologies need to consider both thewide spectrumof nanotechnology research and development lines,

Therefore, those wishing to develop strategies for managing nanotechnology emergence not only face the general challenge of prospecting possible pathways for innovation they also are challenged to prospect the changing environments

Only then can effective strategies be developed to shape the emerging nanotechnology governance arrangement. Such an emerging reconfiguration of actor relations, their roles and responsibilities is particularly striking in nanotechnology in the diverse activities in

perspectives and dynamics in order to develop smarter strategies. As mentioned elsewhere 2, 3 such interactive workshops are not an easy task.

uncertain and involve multiple actors working at multiple levels shot through with anticipatory strategies and expectations on risks and benefits of the emerging technology field.

and dilemmas, allowing for more informed strategy articulation through deepening and broadening the understanding of socio-technical dynamics.

of actor activities (including anticipation in the form of agendas and strategies) and of enabling and constraining factors

whilst still allowing the formulation of strategies and concrete steps to take action. The key point here is that novelties do not traverse a static landscape made up of various selection environments (such as regulations, markets, policy etc.

and stakeholder strategies were explored. At the time of the workshop (December 2007) the situation in and around nanotechnology involved mostly the discussion of Environment, Health and Safety aspects (EHS/HES) and other nanotoxicity related discussions,

Another approach would be to shift the focus of strategy articulation away from relying on prediction in its strictest sense,

Constructive technology assessment (Constructive TA) 6 10 as a reflexive strategy articulation support system taking as its starting point ongoing socio-technical dynamics is particularly suitable for such a purpose.

In this way, Constructive TA is an instance of the general shift in management (and tailored foresight) away from prediction towards reflexive anticipation and strategy making.

and strategy towards the creation of circumstances and conditions which enhance the chance of success. Good preparation

Working with such scenarios in strategy articulation workshops is a means of testing the scenarios while probing and modulating participants'worldviews. 1230 D. K. R. Robinson/Technological forecasting

Proliferation of engagement/communication approaches at the micro-level allows justification of societal awareness as a strategy for ensuring societal acceptance.

a firm developing food-packaging sensors uses the blog to collect data on user preferences allowing targeting strategies.

and links them up with overall strategies in motivations for engagement around nanotechnology. 12 The scenario focused on the engagement aspects of RRI, the roles of various actor groups, the strategies and how the interactions played out.

which leads to enlightenment and legitimisation strategies. Nanodiablog provides a space for other actors to shape the context from instrumental to constructive criticism (whistle blowers have a space to proclaim

This section also illustrates techno start-up strategies..Similar developments can be seen for crime scene investigation and civil security technologies, where advanced diagnostics,

and strategies as well as providing key elements and aspects in context. The context is important as it shows the co-evolutionary nature of emergence.

helps in creating more reflexive strategies. It does this in a form that is usable and makes sense.

and so helps in identifying actors and their strategies. This aids the scenario creator, in my case I could place amidst the three scenarios some major stances and strategies of various actors,

and based on expectations analysis and the concept of emerging irreversibilities, show how actors interactions and reactions would co-evolve with the broader IC+landscape. 6. 1. A new member to the socio-technical scenario family

and the challenges faced by their strategy activities. The authors analyse the strategy processes of the Danish technical research council

and strategy process conducted in the city of Vienna. The paper gives a comprehensive review of the foresight and the assessment of its impacts on policy.

and outcomes of the foresight and strategy process were translated successfully into policy decisions immediately after the exercise.

and that would provide inputs for the country's national strategy, foster collaboration between the two main funding agencies the Academy of Finland and the Finnish funding agency for technology and Innovation (Tekes) and promote foresight and innovation activities at large.

http://www. tandfonline. com/loi/ctas20 Foresight and strategy in national research councils and research programmes Per Dannemand Andersen a & Mads Borup a a Department of Management Engineering, Technical University

Per Dannemand Andersen & Mads Borup (2009) Foresight and strategy in national research councils and research programmes, Technology analysis & Strategic management, 21:8, 917-932, DOI:

8 november 2009,917 932 Foresight and strategy in national research councils and research programmes Per Dannemand Andersen*and Mads Borup Department of Management Engineering

and programmes and the challenges faced by their strategy activities. We analysed the strategy processes of two organisations:

The actors'understanding of strategy was included also in the analysis. Based on these analyses we argue that the impact of foresight exercises can be improved

strategy definition processes supporting the practical decision making on funding. In some form or another there are always strategy processes in national research councils and research programmes.

Our analysis makes a departure in the contemporary foresight literature and the discipline of strategy.

We see foresight as a specific type of strategy activity. Foresight is a part of the much larger area of strategy activities in general,

and of the range of methods and systematic approaches existing in the strategy field. With its long-term perspective and its emphasis on connecting perspectives of different knowledge areas and different actors and stakeholders, foresight differs from corporate strategic planning,

which typically looks three, five or maybe eight years ahead and involves only a very limited number of stakeholders.

and strategy in national research councils and research programmes 919 and the emerging generic technologies likely to yield the greatest economical and social benefits'(Martin 1995).

Examplle of strategy and priority-setting processes in public research can be found from Spain, UK, Norway, The netherlands, France and Denmark in a report from the European project MUSCIPOLI (Siune 2001.

the methods and approaches used in foresight activities have their basis in the academic discipline of strategy.

textbooks on strategy (Grant 1998; Johnson and Scholes 2002. Based on this strategy discipline quite a fewbooks

and journal articles have provided lists of foresight methods and discussed them in light of, for example, technology foresight, technology forecasting and technology assessment (Martino 1983;

2. 3. Foresight seen in different strategy perspectives Strategy, strategic planning or strategic management is established a well academic discipline that is taught at most business schools

and mostly directed towards corporate strategy. Foresight is not to the same extent established as an academic discipline.

Rather, foresight is a field of practice with origins in several other more or less established academic disciplines such as evolutionary economy, strategy, technology assessment or social studies of science, futures studies.

even though by some authors the term‘foresight'has also been used regarding prospective thinking in corporate strategy.

A similar evolution has happened in the field of strategy (Mintzberg, Ahlstrand, and Lampel 1998. Some authors have suggested that foresight has emerged from the convergence of the three disciplines and practices of policy development, strategic planning and futures studies (Gavigan et al. 2001),

different approaches to foresight and strategy coexist. There exists no clear and generally accepted distinction between foresight and strategy,

but it seems generally accepted Downloaded by University of Bucharest at 05:09 03 december 2014 Foresight

and strategy in national research councils and research programmes 921 that the field of foresight is indebted more to the field of strategy than vice versa.

what strategy is than on what foresight is and based on this assumption we will discuss how different understandings of strategy

and decision processes affect the understanding of foresight. Concepts such as strategy methods priority-setting and foresight are not always familiar to scientists.

Large parts of the science community often associate such terms with administration, bureaucracy, political intervention in science and similar, negatively associated terms,

To some extent this issue is discussed also in the strategy literature. In the 1990s Henry Mintzberg, in a book and two papers (Mintzberg 1994a c), argued that strategic planning focuses too much on analyses

this raises the question of what the various actors understand as strategy. Mintzberg and colleagues describe 10 schools of thought in strategy formation (Mintzberg, Ahlstrand, and Lampel 1998.

It is beyond the scope of this paper to discuss in depth the relationship between all the traditions within the academic strategy literature.

A discussion on this topic can be found in Kaivo-oja 2001. However, foresight seen in the light of three of the traditions are described in the following:(

2) strategy as negotiation; and (3) the resource-based view on strategy A strongly related issue is the understanding of decision processes.

The question is whether foresight or strategy processes can be designed as a so-called decision machine, which, if designed well enough

and that part of the discipline of strategy inspired by Michael E. Porter's thinking. Porter's book from 1980 focused on the strategic management of a firms'external environment and on selecting a strategy to position a firm in the market (Porter 1990.

In the same way, foresight exercises and similar strategic activities aim to position national research optimally in relation to future opportuniitie in the strategic environment of national research programmes:

and M. Borup With this understanding of strategy it is logical to use forecasting methods capable of analysing the uncertainties in the future strategic environment.

Mintzberg and colleagues label this‘strategy formulation as a process of negotiation'(Mintzberg, Ahlstrand, and Lampel 1998.

The methods used in this approach to strategy formulation are, among others, stakeholder analyses, networks, negotiations, political games, alliances and power bases in expertise (i e. academic reputation.

In the archetypal version of this, understanding of strategy priority-setting in research councils comes about after negotiations between its members

Foresight and strategy are also about priority-setting; The context is not related to any particular understanding of science or technological development but to powers and political interests in the affected areas of science and technology;

This is often referred to as the resource-based view of strategy. It is based on the knowledge-based view of the firm and on organisational learning (Prahalad and Hamel 1990;

and strategy in national research councils and research programmes 923 Foresight and strategy focus on competencies and visions for defining future development;

The strategies and micro-politics of research programmes can thus play a central role in some cases a key role in the broader strategies and developments of science and research systems.

To manage national research programmes is a highly important part of science governance and research management in general.

Studies of relevant texts, such as strategy plans, background notes and other available internal texts prepared in affiliation with the studied strategy plans;

and Qualitative interviews with the actors involved. Interviewees were typically central council members, civil servants from relevant governmental entities, process and other external consultannts industry representatives and representatives of non-governmental organisations (NGOS;

but with tighter cooperation with the strategic research council's activitiies Other reforms are expected in coming years as a result of the Government's Strategy for Denmark in the Global economy (The Prime minister's Office 2006).

3. 3. Strategy processes in the Danish technical research council One of the activities of the Danish technical research council over the last 15 20 years has been to develop 5-year strategy plans.

The latest strategy plan for the Technical research Council was Strategy plan 2003 2007, publisshe in August 2002 (Statens Teknisk-Videnskabelige Forskningsråd 2002.

to be used as input to the strategy process. The vision papers were to cover all areas of science and technology research.

but quite a few also included thoughts on education and on the potential industrial and societal Downloaded by University of Bucharest at 05:09 03 december 2014 Foresight and strategy in national research councils and research programmes 925 impacts of the suggested research.

On the basis of these discussions, seven strategic areas were defined for the Strategy plan. Therefore, the strategic areas can to some extent be seen as representing the main areas of research in science and technology,

The research consortia instrument was added to the list of seven strategy areas for the Strategy plan The eight areas were:(

The third phase in the development of the Strategy plan 2003 2007 was more important to the end product than was suggested by the term communication format.

From the beginning of the process it was clear for many of those involved that the Strategy plan would be simpler than the previous 5-year plan (1998 2002),

but the final decision to present the Strategy plan in a relatively brief and politician-targeted format was taken late in the process,

The final Strategy plan was a publication of 28 pages with many pictures, brief passages of text and boxes containing short examples of the use of science and technology research and quotes from well-known and highleeve industry representatives.

This was in contrast to the approximately 100 full pages of text of the earlier strategy plan.

Contrary to the earlier 5-year plans, the Strategy plan 2003 2007 was targeted primarily at politicians, with the aim of inspiring them to spend more on science and technology.

Earlier strategy plans for the Technical research Council, as well as plans for other research councils, such as the Natural science Research council, received broad input from many different actors during the process of strategy development.

In contrast, apart from the actors mentioned above the research council members, the agency employees, the PR company and the authors of the vision papers only a few other persons were involved directly in the development of the Strategy plan 2003 2007.

Itwas not expected that the 2003 2007 planwould have a mediating and coordinating role in the research community or internally within the research council.

In practice, however, there are indications that the Strategy plan 2003 2007 has, at least to some extent, had the effect of coordinating and giving direction to the research community.

or action plans, following the Strategy plan are expected not from the research council for the time being. Downloaded by University of Bucharest at 05:09 03 december 2014 926 P. D. Andersen

The programme and its strategies are coordinated with general national energy polices and often also with other policy areas;

for example, the general national research strategy developed in the mid-1990s (Miljø-og Energiministeriet 1996a c). Danish energy research experienced considerable turbulence following the change in governnmen in late 2001.

Together with major changes in the Energy Authority and the ministry responsible for it, this turbulence had a major influence on the strategy activities of the Energy research programme.

Even more clearly than in our first case study, it is obvious that one cannot understand strategy developments in isolation from other activities in and around the programme.

This case study focuses on the round of strategy development in the period after 2001. In this period

The core group for the strategy development processes, apart from the programme-management staff in the Energy Authority, consisted of representatives from the planning and development departments of the two electricity grid operators.

Strategy development thus existed between several programmes rather than being connected directly to a single programme. The programme managers and the institutions involved in the core group subscribed to

and felt committed to the common strategies developed, and the programmes were integrated to a considerable extent.

However, the development of strategy between these programmes also implied that there was room for activities other than those defined in the strategy plan.

the Advisory Council recommended the drawing-up of a strategy plan, but the Ministry did not approve this Downloaded by University of Bucharest at 05:09 03 december 2014 Foresight and strategy in national research councils and research programmes 927 suggestion.

Given the smaller total budget for the Energy research programme, it was decided that strategy development from early 2003 should be concentrated on four areas:

biomass energy, solar cells, wind energy and fuel cells. These priority areas were decided by the Danish energy authority in collaboration with their counterparts in the PSO R&d programme.

The selection of only four priority areas resulted in a stronger and narrower technology focus than the broader priority areas of the Energy research programme's earlier strategies.

and provided input and background papers to strategy developments (IEA 1999). These committees were closed down. Instead, the core group lead the strategy work in the four areas,

supported by a few experienced consultants. A common template for the strategy development was drawn up. It consisted of four parts or steps:(

1) Analysis of the state of affairs in the area, leading to draft proposal of a strategy plan;(

2) Discussion of the proposal with the actors in the area at a hearing meeting;(

3) Publication of a final version of the strategy plan;(4) Planning for specific actions and follow-up activities (roadmaps, etc..

The strategy work was used in the funding decisions of the research programmes as early as 2003. In the second half of 2003 and in 2004, two other areas were defined as priorities for strategy development.

First, work on hydrogen technology was initiated, an area with application to research on fuel cells. Second, strategy activities concerning energy-efficient technologies and biofuels were launched by the Danish energy authority.

In addition for the other priority areas of technology roadmap exercises were recommended as a follow-up activity. It was, in general,

the intention of the programme managers and the core group of the strategy activities to interact with key actors in energy research.

Demands for research were incorporated into strategy planning primarily through the energy systems'actors and industrial actors,

For the Danish technical research council the rationale for the strategy process was to argue for more funding and to respond to pressure for more collaboration between science and industry.

or predetermined process for developing Strategy development of strategy is a muddling-through process, and decisions Downloaded by University of Bucharest at 05:09 03 december 2014 928 P. D. Andersen

The Technical research Council plan mentions that its strategy is about prioritising areas of science with special importance for society during the next 10 20 years.

An interesting observation in both the cases analysed is that the members of the core strategy groups are also those responsible for implementing the strategy.

Technical research Council Energy research programme Actors involved Programme management Research council Research Agency (secretariat) Energy Authority Core group in strategy processes Research council Research Agency (secretariat+strategy

descriptions of areas of strategy effort Analysis of areas (present state and actor views) Hearings Roadmaps (as follow-up) Duration of the process 15 months Approximately 18 months Legitimization

and strategy in national research councils and research programmes 929 Although there is a rich and growing application-oriented literature on foresight in science

Instead the discussion focused on questions on the nature of strategy and whether it is possible to make strategies in science at all,

and on the merits of the Mode 1 and Mode 2 types of research. In the case of the Technical research Council, it has obtained its legitimacy through law,

as the council has a legal obligation to make strategy plans. In the case of the Energy research programme, legitimacy is secured primarily through hearings.

As the two strategy cases were analysed in the context of foresight parameters for comparing the case studies draw partly from contemporary discussions of foresight typology.

and understandings of the strategy processse that were undertaken (see Table 2). In the case of the Technical research Council a variety of rationales

In contrast, in the Energy research programme there seems to exist a more coherent understanding of strategy associated with developing new energy technologies.

Table 2. Rationales for strategy functions as reflected in the interviews with actors involved in the strategy process.

Technical research Council Energy research programme The strategy of covering all existing research areas: supporting existing areas, the opposite of priority setting The strategy of new technologies:

technology and not science-discipline-oriented The strategy of positions of strength: underpinning priorities related to scientific strengths rather than future societal or industrial potentials The strategy of developing new production and consumption systems:

innovation-systemorieente The strategy of gaps and weak points: underpinning priorities related to scientific weaknesses compared to the international state-of-the-art The strategy of serving industry:

as above but with industry playing a more central role The strategy of more money: focusing attention on research by showing its societal importance The strategy of no strategy meaning no priorities made:

the strategy is a description of existing activities and some interesting perspectives The strategy of coordination:

strategy is about coordinating activities, creating or reinforcing networks The strategy of new measures or instruments;

the strategy of (technological and scientific) territory: demarcation, e g. against natural science and the natural science research council Downloaded by University of Bucharest at 05:09 03 december 2014 930 P. D. Andersen and M. Borup 4. Conclusion In contrast to basic funding for universities

and other research institutions, research councils and national research programmes are a dynamic part of national science systems. If a national science system is perceived as an important element of the overall national innovation system then priority-setting processes of research councils

and research programmes can be of legitimate strategic interest to governments. Our analysis shows that research councils and research programmes do carry out strategy processes

and that the processes are based not only on scientific excellence (peer review, etc.),), but also have a strong element of prospective outlook similar to foresight exercises.

The processes can be improved by implementing the procedural elements of foresight exercises, especially with respect to elements such as the legitimacy of discussing long-term future perspectives and the inclusion of actors.

Not least the research council case could have benefited from a more formal and structured process. This would have improved the transparency of the process.

what process led from the 45 position papers to the first drafts of the strategy plan.

if we understand better the existing strategy traditions and current challenges faced by these institutions.

and approaches to strategy exist concurrrentl among the participants in the cases studied, and this is especially true for the Technical research Council.

and strategy in national research councils and research programmes 931 a full Delphi survey could be applied, but the process could also benefit from just getting inspiration from formulation of Delphi statements.

In any case it is a long-term venture to improve academia's and the science communities'understanding of foresight and of strategy in general.

Acknowledgements The work behind this article received funding from the Danish Social science Research council through the project,‘Strategies and identity of science a study of strategy processes in national research programmes'.

His main areas of research are technology foresight, strategy in science and innovation, technological innovation, the interaction between industry and science,

and natural gas transmission grids in Denmark. 2. Another PSO funding programme is represented in the strategy process, namely the energy efficiency PSO, managed by the association of energy production companies, ELFOR.

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