The Forest-Based Sector Technology Platform was one of the European Technology Platforms that brought together industry, research and public authorities to define a Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) for the sector. In Finland, a modular foresight process was organised to develop national priorities as Finland's contribution to the European agenda.

The process was based on RPM Screening. More than 100 researchers and business people across five parts of the industry proposed and scored 146 research themes in just seven weeks. Robust Portfolio Modelling identified promising themes, and participatory workshops discussed the results of the multi-criteria analyses. After a demonstration, all value-chain coordinators chose to use the method, and in their workshops it helped focus and catalyse discussion.

More information: http://sra.tkk.fi/ 

WoodWisdom-Net was one of the ERA-NETs supported by the European Union, to deepen collaboration between European funding organisations in wood material science, coordinate the use of research funds and promote the competitiveness and sustainability of the European forest cluster. Its 18 partners from eight countries (Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom) decided to launch a co-funded research programme in wood material science.

To shape the research agenda, a participatory bottom-up consultation was designed with the Systems Analysis Laboratory of Helsinki University of Technology. More than 400 researchers, industrialists and other stakeholders took part and proposed 317 research ideas, which were assessed online and prioritised with RPM Screening. Facilitated workshops discussed, validated and synthesised the results, and network analyses supported the identification of possible collaboration networks. The process ended with three groups of funders preparing joint calls for research proposals.

For more information: http://woodwisdom.tkk.fi/ 

Although foresight has become increasingly relevant at the international level, little methodological attention has been given to the challenges that arise from the geographical dispersion of participants or from their national and regional idiosyncrasies. This article addresses these challenges in connection with coordination tools for the Open Method of Coordination, most notably ERA-NETs and European Technology Platforms, which the European Commission facilitates to contribute to the establishment of the European Research Area.

The successful management of these tools calls for multi-stakeholder processes, which place demands such as scalability, modularity and dependability on the design and deployment of foresight methodologies. The article reports experiences from a foresight process conducted in Finland to support the development of the Strategic Research Agenda of the Forest-Based Sector Technology Platform. The process was based on the RPM Screening methodology, which combined the Internet-based solicitation and assessment of research themes, the identification of promising themes through Robust Portfolio Modelling (RPM), and participatory workshops where the results of the multi-criteria analyses were discussed.

The encouraging results of the process and the broader potential of Internet-based decision support systems are discussed in view of European coordination tools.

Könnölä, T., Salo, A., & Brummer, V. (2011). Foresight for European coordination: Developing national priorities for the Forest-Based Sector Technology Platform. International Journal of Technology Management, 54(4). https://doi.org/10.1504/IJTM.2011.041583 

This article addresses the challenges of organising future-oriented consultation processes within European coordination tools for the Open Method of Coordination, such as ERA-NETs, which the European Commission promotes towards the establishment of the European Research Area. It reports experiences from a consultation process organised within WoodWisdom-Net (ERA-NET) to create an international research agenda, based on the long-term challenges of the European forest sector and on the identification of gaps and new opportunities in wood material science and engineering.

The process involved eighteen funding organisations from eight European countries and over 400 participants, most notably leading researchers and industrialists. It combined the Internet-based solicitation and assessment of research issues, Robust Portfolio Modelling (RPM) to identify promising research issues, and facilitated workshops where the results were discussed, validated and synthesised. Extensive network analyses supported the identification of possible collaboration networks and the development of joint calls for proposals.

Drawing on these experiences, the article discusses the broader potential of Internet-based decision support tools and participatory workshops in promoting foresight within ERA-NETs and other European coordination tools.

Brummer, V., Könnölä, T., & Salo, A. (2008). Foresight within ERA-NETs: Experiences from the preparation of an international research program. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 75(4), 483–495. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2008.02.005 

The stages of the implemented process were as follows:

1. Shared understanding of the current situation in the mountain areas
The discussions within the working groups started from a set of summarized information from the extensive analyses previously conducted, structured by strengths and weaknesses, along with additional synthetic data on the tourism, agriculture, forestry, and wood industry sectors.

2. Selection of the drivers of change
The working groups explored and enriched a list of factors/trends that influence the contextual change toward the 2035 horizon, across various dimensions: social, technological, economic, ecological, geopolitical, and values-based factors.

3. Scenario projection for 2035
Based on thematically grouped change drivers, the working groups envisioned and described the state of mountain areas in 2035 under the influence of these drivers, in the absence of strategic corrective interventions.

4. Identification of aspirations – key values, opportunities, best practices
The groups proposed and debated a series of values and aspirations for the future of mountain areas by 2035, including inspiration from best practices in other countries.

5. Consolidation of aspirations into clear directions for transforming mountain areas
This stage involved grouping aspirations by thematic areas, more clearly articulating the transformation vector, and partially exploring concrete actions that would enable these transformations. The sum of these transformation directions forms the **Vision for mountain areas by 2035**.

6. Roadmapping - includes the set of actions that support progress toward the desirable transformation of the mountain areas, across multiple levels.

7. Priority directions
Participants in the workshops identified the actions perceived as the most impactful and/or urgent in transforming mountain areas.

4Growth will showcase the uptake of digital technologies and data through the “4Growth Visualisation Platform” that will combine powerful storytelling with advanced visualisations of the market.

This 3-year Horizon Europe project, funded by the European Commission, brings together 13 partners with the aim of understanding where, how and to what extent digital technologies and data are being adopted within the agricultural and forestry sectors. The project started in January 2024 and will end in December 2026.