FORESIGHT IN THE WEST MIDLANDS

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FORESIGHT IN THE WEST MIDLANDS AND
INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS ALEXANDER HICKS
MBA Specialist Innovation Advisor Coventry
University Enterprises Ltd
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Introduction
Foresight West Midlands
REFORM
Conclusions
Agenda
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Coventry University Enterprises Ltd (CUE Ltd) was
established in 1989 as a wholly owned company of
Coventry University
Employing 120 staff and with an annual turnover
of 15m the company is one of the largest
university enterprise organisations in the UK and
Europe.
Business Support programme activities include,
pre-incubation and incubation support, innovation
support, technology transfer and international
business collaboration.
Physical Infrastructure owned and managed by CUE
Ltd includes an award winning technology park and
conference centre
Introduction
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Introduction
Foresight West Midlands
REFORM
Conclusions
Agenda
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Systematic, participatory, future intelligence
gathering and vision building process aimed at
present day decisions and mobilising joint
actions


FOREN Network, 2001
Thinking, debating and shaping the
future DG Research
Regional Foresight is the implementation of
anticipation, participation, networking, vision
and action at a reduced territorial
scale. FOREN Network, 2001
Foresight Defined
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Information Foresight thinking and research

Imagination - Scenarios and
visualisation


Inspiration Creativity and innovation
Implementation Goals and action plans
Foresight Defined (Alexander Hicks)
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Science and Technology (Technology Development
and Market Need)
Social (Human Development)
Regional Vision (Regional Development)
Economic Development (Enterprise Clusters, SME
Networks, Industry Association)
Foresight in Practice
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Regional Innovation Strategy
Published in June 1999 enhancing innovation
culture, spreading best practice and improving
regional innovation capability
Regional Economic Strategy
Supporting the development of a diverse and
dynamic business base by planning for the future
through scenario planning and supporting the
development of the regions economic clusters
Regional Foresight
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Partnership project developed between Regional
Development Agency and Coventry University with
part funding from ERDF.
Approved in September 1999 with first phase
concluded in December 2001. Second phase approved
in Summer 2002 and concluded in December 2005
To create a mechanism to implement the work of
the National Foresight Programme in the West
Midlands region and provide a new structure
to Benefit the industrial and business
communities of the region
Regional Foresight
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Supporting the development of the regions
economic clusters
Supporting Innovation in SMEs and SME Networks
Publicising the importance of foresight through
seminars and workshops And developing relevant
tools for practical application by SMEs
Establishing strong regional links with
universities, business support agencies,
business groups and trade associations
Regional Foresight
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Engagement
Access, Relevance, Outputs
SME Engagement
Profitability, Case Studies, Cost, Business
Life-Cycle
Positioning Regional Foresight
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• SWOT the internal environment

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social
technological
political
economic
environmental

• STEEP the external environment

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• 3 Phase Approach
• Identification of long term trends and drivers
  for
• regional cluster groups
• Themed Workshops for key cluster groups
• Development of SME networks to take advantage
• of acquired knowledge

A Foresight Model for Economic Development in
Regions
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Introduction
Foresight West Midlands
REFORM
Conclusions
Agenda
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Funded within REGIONS of KNOWLEDGE 2 under the
SIXTH FRAMEWORK PROGRAMME
To enable regions to understand their particular
needs to enable increased RTD activity and
investment in the future
To develop a number of individual Action Plans
for partners, which will provide the
infrastructure for new RTD policy and its
implementation
To develop regional scenarios for economic
development and a global European scenario
REFORM Regional Economic RTD Policy
through Foresight and Mentoring
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Mentoring (WP6)
Benchmarking (WP1)
Scenario Planning (WP2)
Open Forum Workshops (WP5)
Conference (WP7)
Study Visits (WP3)
Communication and Information (WP4) Management
and Co-ordination (WP8)
REFORM Regional Economic RTD Policy
through Foresight and Mentoring
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Surveillance and Assessment of Investment in RTD
in the Region
Comparative Baseline Indicator Analysis
RD Programmes and Support
EU RTD Targets
REFORM Regional RD Investment Programmes (WP1)
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Development and evaluation of scenarios for RTD
and innovation development
To recognise future trends and drivers in RTD
and innovation development
Common European Scenario
Develop Regional Action Plans to support RTD
Policy and investment
REFORM Scenario Development (WP2)
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Support and Mentoring of regions at the
Developmental Stage in RTD
Training and Professional Development Experience
To develop specific RTD Policies
Identify appropriate development opportunities
REFORM Mentoring Programme (WP6)
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Exchange of Best Practice and Further Learning
Intensive Knowledge Transfer and Evaluation of
future activities
Promote RTD and Knowledge Transfer
3 Regional Study Visits South-East,
Ireland Zurich, Switzerland Bucharest, Romania
REFORM Regional Study Visits
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Disseminate Activities and Results from the
project
Sustain interaction between project partners and
stakeholders
Continuous networking
4 Workshops South-East, Ireland Zurich,
Switzerland Brussels Bucharest, Romania
REFORM Open Forum Workshops (WP5)
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Establishment of an Online Discussion And
Dissemination Facility
Promotional Mechanism for the Project
Knowledge Pool and Databank
www.ref4m.eu
REFORM Communication (WP4)
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Introduction
Foresight West Midlands
REFORM
Conclusions
Agenda
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Areas of difficulty in foresight and scenario
development include - effective portrayal of
alternative scenarios and visualisation -
development of medium/long-term approaches in
Pisa 2020 and REFORM
Elaboration of a SWOT analysis is central to the
foresight and scenario development process in
both Pisa 2020 and REFORM
Identification of reference material or
Qualitative reference framework to ensure
consistency with current and forecast trends
Focus on 7 sub-systems (Migration, Education,
RD, Population, Economy, Patents, Infrastructure
) within REFORM compared with a focus on energy,
and Life Expectancy within the PISA 2020 study
along with specialist interviews
Conclusions
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If you have any questions, please feel free to
contact me Alexander Hicks MBA Specialist
Innovation Advisor Coventry University
Enterprises Ltd Email a.hicks_at_cad.coventry.ac.uk
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