The Role of NGOs in the Introduction of New Science and Technology Policy Tools

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The Role of NGOs in the Introduction of New
Science and Technology Policy Tools

• Workshop B Improving Science and Society Dialogue
• Present Needs Future Options Issues and Topics
  for Transnational Foresight
• - 2/3 December 2004, Den Hague
• Dr. Milanka Slavova

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Why Should We Discuss the Role of NGOs?

• Contemporary policy development should be based
  on more participatory approach because of the
  fact that knowledge is distributed widely and the
  world goes more complex
• Intelligence-gathering and networking methods
  have to evolve
• Foresight should reflect more democracy and less
  elitism which means that more stakeholders have
  to be involved in the Foresight exercises

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Why Should We Discuss the Role of NGOs?
(continuation)

• NGOs provide means for expressing and actively
  addressing the varied complex needs of the
  society and help individuals to act as citizens
• Free from the constraints of government and the
  profit motive that dominates business, NGOs serve
  as a forum for the discussion and dissemination
  of new ideas, capacity building and testing of
  new policy tools

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Two Approaches towards NGOs Role

• NGOs as pioneers in the introduction of new
  policy tools - foresight and regional innovation
  strategies (RIS)
• NGOs as participants in foresight exercises and
  RIS development expressing the attitudes and
  interests of civil society groups

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NGOs as pioneers -1

• Foresight exercises were initiated by different
  stakeholders
• Government agencies Hungary (National
  Committee for Technological development), the
  Czech Republic (the Ministry of Education),
  recently in Poland Ministry of Scientific
  Research and Information Technology, In Slovakia
  Ministry of Education and coordinated by the
  Institute for Forecasting of the Slovak Academy
  of Sciences
• NGOs Bulgaria (ARC Fund), Romania (CRIMM)
  in parallel with initiatives of the Academy of
  Sciences in Estonia the Institute for Baltic
  Studies
• In Bulgaria, Romania, Estonia the pilot
  foresight exercise initiatives were possible due
  to the EU support - 5th framework programme

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NGOs as pioneers - 2

• RIS - the initiative in many regions came from
  national and regional NGOs
• In some of the new member countries and the
  candidate countries NGOs developed complementary
  skills in policy development and innovation
  support actions
• TC AS in CR (host of the IRC, coordinator of a
  RIS project and conducted the National Foresight)
• ARC Fund host of the IRC, RIS for the South
  Central region of Bulgaria, ForeTech Technology
  Foresight pilot action for biotechnologies and
  e-government services
• CRIMM IRC, ForeTech biotechnology sector
• Institute for Baltic Studies IRC, RIS, eForesee

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NGOs as representatives of the civil society

• NGOs were involved in Foresight and RIS in
  different ways
• In the coordination committee/board - in the
  Czech Republic
• In some of the panels or thematic groups - in the
  Czech Republic, in Hungary environmental
  organisations that opposed to the use of certain
  energy sources in Bulgaria the Foundation for
  Local Government Reform in the e-government panel
• In the dissemination of the results and the
  broader discussions in Hungary, the Czech
  Republic, Bulgaria
• Subcategories of NGOs professional and trade
  associations and unions of research
  organisations were the most active participants

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Challenges for NGOs as pioneers

• To include the results into policy decision
  making process
• To develop cooperation between government and
  pioneering NGOs in future activities
• To combine the implementation of the Foresight
  with other policy instruments

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Challenges for NGOs as representatives of the
civil society

• To be involved in the foresight process in order
  to broaden the discussion on ST from
  non-research perspective
• To raise their knowledge on Foresight and to
  develop their skills in implementing foresight
  tools in order to define their own future
  activities

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Acknowledgements

• Michael Keenan, PREST, UK
• Attila Havas, Institute of Economics, Hungarian
  Academy of Sciences, Hungary
• Kristina Kadlecikova, Technology Centre AS CR,
  Czech Republic
• Zoya Damianova, ARC Fund, Bulgaria

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• Thank you