Futures Studies in the Interactive Society

This book consists of papers which were prepared within the framework of the research project (No. T 048539) entitled Futures Studies in the Interactive Society (project leader: Éva Hideg) and funded by the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (OTKA) between 2005 and 2009. Some discuss the theoretical and methodological questions of futures studies and foresight; others present new approaches to or procedures of certain questions which are very important and topical from the perspective of forecast and foresight practice. Each study was conducted in pursuit of improvement in futures fields

Contending European agendas for agricultural innovation

Amid expectations for a European ‘transition to sustainable agriculture’, there are competing transitional processes. Given the widely acknowledged harm from agro-industrial systems, ‘unsustainable agriculture’ has divergent diagnoses and innovative solutions. This rivalry can be analysed as contending innovation agendas; the analysis here combines theoretical paradigms of agricultural innovation. In an EU policy context of a Knowledge-Based Bio-Economy (KBBE), there are divergent accounts of its key terms: biological resources, economy, relevant knowledge and knowledge-producers. Likewise, divergent accounts are found of innovation, intensification, resource efficiency, resilience, bio-energy, horizontal integration, etc. These divergent agendas are promoted by distinct stakeholder networks. The dominant agenda favours laboratory-based techno-scientific innovation as a source of ‘efficient’ inputs, which can use renewable resources more efficiently for competitive advantage in global value chains. By contrast, other agendas promote farmers’ knowledge of natural resources, especially via agro-ecological methods which can reduce energy inputs, increase productivity and add value through quality. With those contending agendas, rival stakeholder networks seek to influence R&D priorities. From the standpoint of multifunctional agriculture, such contending agendas can play complementary roles in different rural spaces. Some agro-food practices may combine aspects of different paradigms. As a concept, Agricultural Knowledge Systems may provide a common space for interchanges between divergent agendas and their research priorities. However, these innovation agendas promote conflicting visions of the future

Technologie en innovatie in Vlaanderen: Prioriteiten.

Vlaanderen;

Analysis of Knowledge-based Economy Development in Poland in the Light of Strategic Documents

The aim of article is to present and assess the most important documents referring to the strategy of knowledge-based economy development in Poland.Celem artykułu jest prezentacja i ocena najważniejszych dokumentów dotyczących strategii rozwoju gospodarki opartej na wiedzy w Polsce, tj. Strategii Rozwoju Kraju 2007-2015 (SRK), Narodowych Strategicznych Ram Odniesienia 2007-2013 (NSRO) i funkcjonujących w ich obrębie programów: Programu Operacyjnego Innowacyjna Gospodarka 2007-2013 (POIG) i Programu Operacyjnego Kapitał Ludzki 2007-2013 (POKL), jak również Strategii rozwoju nauki w Polsce do 2015 roku, Raportu "Polska 2030. Wyzwania Rozwojowe" i Programu Foresight, przygotowanego przez PAN

Multi-actor regional governance: regions as new players for innovation in Europe

In recent years, new regionally based strategy building processes emerged at the interface between public policy and the social coordination of collective action. Foresight as a governance process for stimulating regional innovation and for strengthening the regional economic system against global competition became a popular concept. Based on the experiences of a strategy building process in the Italian autonomous province of Trento, it is the objective of the paper to sketch recent theoretical and political developments regarding multi-actor and multi-level governance and policy concepts at the regional level.