The IRE Knowledge Transfer Working Group

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NORTHERN IRELAND HORIZON SCANNING FORESIGHT
PROGRAMMES IN SUPPORT OF KNOWLEDGE TECHNOLOGY
TRANSFER Anne Conaty Department of Enterprise
Trade Investment
The IRE Knowledge Transfer Working Group
23 May 2007 Ennis, Ireland
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INTRODUCTION FORESIGHT HORIZON SCANNING IN
NORTHERN IRELAND

• Foresight Horizon Scanning activities have
  played a key role in the Northern Ireland
  Technology / Knowledge Transfer system for more
  than a decade
• Initial focus, through the original NI Foresight
  Programme, was on assisting government, business
  and society to anticipate the potential impact of
  new and disruptive technologies over time-lines
  of 5, 10 and 15 years
• Objective subtly changed over the decade in
  2007 the new NI Horizon Scanning Programme
  focuses more clearly on identifying
  commercialisation opportunities arising from the
  RD and technology base
• The key development over the past 10 years in
  Northern Ireland has been a movement away from a
  focus on the pure Technology Foresight scenario
  towards what might more accurately be described
  as a Technology Exploitation Foresight process.

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FORESIGHTS PLACE IN NIS TECHNOLOGY / KNOWLEDGE
TRANSFER SYSTEM

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NORTHERN IRELAND FORESIGHT PROGRMME

• Northern Ireland Foresight Programme was launched
  in 1996 and continued until 2004 - it came to be
  regarded as a UK exemplar for regional Foresight
• Based on thematic panels it brought together
  business, government, and the science base to
  identify and prepare for technological challenges
  over a 10 to 15 year timeline
• Foresight Panels included
• - Software
• - Aging Population
• - Food Drink
• - Textiles Apparel
• - Nanotechnology
• - Networks Systems.

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LEGACY OF NI FORESIGHT PROGRAMME

• It engaged with more than 350 firms of all sizes,
  along with the regions FE HE institutions,
  schools and several NI Government Departments
• Notable ongoing initiatives emerging from NI
  Foresight include
• - Nanotec NI
• - Electronic Communications
  Information Technology (ECIT) Centre
• - Multi-Disciplinary Assessment of
  Technology Centre for Healthcare (MATCH)
• - Technical Textiles Forum.

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NI FORESIGHT - LESSONS LEARNED

• However, despite its success, a detailed
  evaluation in 2004 revealed that NI Foresight had
  limitations
• - Foresight Panels were too large and unwieldy
  (some had in excess of 25 members)
• - In some cases there was insufficient clarity as
  to what panels were tasked with work plans
  often simply evolved over time, unaligned to
  economic imperatives
• - Most of the panels tended to become academic in
  focus and as they moved away from identifying
  commercialisation opportunities many business
  people simply opted out
• - There were difficulties in ensuring that the
  outputs and recommendations of the Foresight
  Panels were acted upon senior NI Government
  representatives and officials were at arms-length
  from the NI Foresight Programme and results were
  not embedded in the policy development process as
  a result.

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NORTHERN IRELAND HORIZON SCANNING PROGRAMME

• A new foresight-style initiative in Northern
  Ireland was launched in February 2007 the
  Horizon Scanning Programme under the auspices
  of MATRIX The Northern Ireland Science
  Industry Panel (www.Matrix-ni.org)
• The Horizon Scanning Programme builds on the
  previous NI Foresight Programme and advises on
  the development of policy recommendations to
  maximise economic benefits and commercialisation
  opportunities from the RD and technological base
  over the short, medium and long term
• The Horizon Programme comprises small sectorally
  specific expert panels led by industry, focused
  on identifying the likely strategic technology
  niches of most future potential to the NI economy.

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NORTHERN IRELAND HORIZON SCANNING PANELS

• The first round (May to October 2007) of the
  Horizon Programme has created foresight panels to
  look at
• - Agrifood Technologies
• - Advanced Materials
• - ICTs
• - Transport Technologies
• - Life Health Sciences.
• A second round (to commence autumn-winter 2007)
  will carry out foresight studies into
• - Renewable Energies
• - Environmental Technologies

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A RECENT EXAMPLE - VISION 2020 NORTHERN
IRELAND AGRIFOOD FORESIGHT REPORT

• Developed using the Horizon Programme model but
  with limited ability to influence policy
  development until Horizon was established
• Proposes 18 possible future Technology Platforms
  for exploitation by the Agrifood sector in
  Northern Ireland some quite controversial
• Agrifood Horizon Panel is now mapping Vision
  2020 Technology Platforms and market
  opportunities to potential future capabilities in
  Northern Irelands science-base
• Opportunities will now be prioritised against
  both time scales, and practical economic and
  commercial value
• Ultimate objective to assist strategic choices
  on the future development of the agrifood sector
  for the benefit of the Northern Ireland economy.

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FUTURE OF NI HORIZON PROGRAMME

• First Round of reports to be presented to MATRIX
  during late summer 2007
• Recommendations for future strategic directions
  to go to DETI Minister Northern Ireland
  Executive from MATRIX during autumn/winter 2007
• Second Round of Horizon Scanning Programme to
  commence winter 2007 with reports delivered by
  spring 2008
• Evaluation of MATRIX and the Horizon Programme to
  begin in April 2008, with a view to making
  necessary improvements or modifications.

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NORTHERN IRELAND HORIZON SCANNING FORESIGHT
PROGRAMMES IN SUPPORT OF KNOWLEDGE TECHNOLOGY
TRANSFER Anne Conaty Department of Enterprise
Trade Investment
The IRE Knowledge Transfer Working Group
23 May 2007 Ennis, Ireland