The brief describes the design and implementation of a success scenario workshop used in Malta to allow industry to give a foresight-based input to the design of innovation policy. The exercise drew upon the results of several industry-level studies in the small new EU member state aimed at identifying the drivers and inhibitors of private sector R&D and innovation investments.
EFP Brief No 187_Using Foresight to Involve Industry in Innovation Policy
The main aim of this initiative was to promote more long-term futures and evidence-based approaches to governance, strategies, and policy development in the higher and further education in Malta under the aegis of the INTERREG IIIC FUTURREG Project. The FUTURREG Project (2005 – 2007) was designed to ensure that regional policies and regional development organisations were informed by high-quality futures tools and participatory processes with significant long-term impacts. This particular FUTURREG subproject/exercise focused on an urgent need to build up the strategic and organizational capacities of institutions in the higher and further education sector and to support them in using futures approaches and foresight tools in developing their strategies in Malta. The results of this work are being used by the Maltese National Commission for Higher Education to define a framework for futureoriented higher and further education strategies using futures approaches.
Emerging media technologies and their impact on children’s households may be singled out as one of the key emerging drivers of children’s television. The National Broadcasting Authority of Malta initiated this foresight exercise, in order to identify the most important trends in today’s children television programmes and how these can be improved. The findings of the exercise highlight a complex set of emerging trends and drivers influencing children’s television in 2015, as well as a number of policy levers for improving television for children. Through the “Children’s Quality Television” foresight exercise a number of policy insights and levers were identified which are currently leading to qualitative improvements in children’s television.
With Europe’s move towards adopting a common integrated maritime policy, a strong need was felt in 2002 for Malta to explore ways of re-assessing its maritime sector in terms of enhancing the competitiveness of its maritime industry and exploiting the marine RTD base in niche areas that could offer strategic opportunities for growth. The Marine Foresight Pilot Exercise implemented in 2003, used specific tools and adapted foresight approaches to address these concerns taking into account the particular socio-political and economic contexts of the Maltese Islands. The foresight process and its outcomes (a vision for 2020) triggered a strategic national dialogue on the importance of the marine sector, which was instrumental in positioning the marine sector among the priority areas targeted for public research investments in the National Strategic Plan for Research and Innovation 2007-2010.
On the eve of accession to the European Union, Malta like all new members states, experienced considerable pressure for change. This included a drive to adapt RTDI policies for participation in the European Research Area. For a small transition economy with limited resources there was a need to adopt a creative approach to policy development. In the period 2002-2003 foresight was introduced to Malta via three pilot projects conducted by the MCST. These pilot projects played an important role in breaking path-dependencies. They liberated the mind-sets of stakeholders and provided occasion for mutual learning on systemic issues. Foresight is now an inte-gral part of the day-to-day work of the MCST which continues to promote and encourage its application to other policy domains.
