FNR Foresight

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FNR Foresight
www.fnr.lu
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Aim of the exercise

• Identification of research domains in the public
  sector with short-term and/or long-term
  socio-economic interest for Luxembourg society
• Identify areas to develop future national
  champions with investment of much of the spending
  increases
• New FNR programmes including
• Programme priority axes
• Programme objectives
• Clarification and dissemination of strategic aim
  of FNR programmes among stakeholders
• Consolidation of communication networks amongst
  stakeholders

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FNR Foresight outline Phase 1
Internet Forum
Interviews 60 major stakeholders
Diagnosis
FNR Programme Evaluation
Priorities Building
Questionnaires 30 response rate
Mapping RD in Luxembourg
FNR Board and Sci. Council meeting
Exploratory Workshop
Data collection (General lack of data)
Trends at international level
Data analysis
Phase 2
Priorities/Recommendations to the Ministries
Young researchers workshop
FNR programmes
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FNR evaluation
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Key evaluation findings

• Supported 55 projects since 2000 with circa 49
  million Euro committed (March 06) out of 57.7
  million Euro
• Funded an additional 1 919 person months in
  research projects
• Invested in unique high profile research
  infrastructure
• Instigated a cultural shift towards evaluation
  and monitoring of research outputs
• Helped to create new interactions almost 50
  project have involvement of public or private
  sector actors
• Too early to demonstrate strong socio-economic
  impacts

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Key issues

• Linking better with all relevant ministries
• Better monitoring of programme achievements
• Need for indicators to measure contribution to
  programme aims
• Need to clarify role of Steering Groups
• Developing stakeholder confidence in project
  evaluation
• Improving quality and consistency of programme
  descriptions
• Prioritising knowledge management within FNR

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Stakeholder Views Interviews

• Total of 50 2-hour interviews 9 phone interviews

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Young researchers Workshop

• Collect young researchers views on
• Lux. research landscape
• Identify, validate and assess emerging research
  priorities
• 5 Workshops with 100 participants
• Physical Sciences and Engineering
• ICT
• Biomedical Sciences
• Environmental Sciences
• Social Sciences and Humanities
• Response of young researchers ambivalent
•  Good to be asked  (never been before)
• Did not know what to answer ( not the right
  people to ask )
• A lot of current problems raised (administration,
  collaboration, etc.)
• follow-up important to get young researchers to
   think foresight 

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Stakeholder views

• Researchers see the impact of their activity more
  as contributing to incremental rather than
  radical innovation
• There is a need to match views from a diverse
  range of stakeholders (public and private
  sectors)
• Researchers support the need for prioritisation,
  but on their own terms
• New domains are not prioritised over old
• Fundamental research receives equal support to
  applied research
• Socio-economic outputs, do not only mean economic
  outputs
• Investment in people receives stronger support
  relative to infrastructure

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Top issues raised in the online questionnaire

• Strategy development
• Luxembourg needs to commit to a national RD
  policy public and private stakeholders have to
  be integrated and committed to the same overall
  targets national cooperation at all levels is
  important for the overall success of RD
  activities.
• Criteria for selection of RD fields
• I think Luxembourg should not try to win any
  'Nobel Prizes' by doing research in novel and
  'hip' areas, but should focus on essential
  research which will help the country's welfare
  and economy in the short and long run.
• Research system parameters
• The focus is in my feeling too much on applied
  research. Applied research of tomorrow was always
  and will always be the fundamental research of
  today. So fundamental research has to be made to
  assure a future applied research.

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Top issuescontinued

• Research culture
• Encourage exposure to international research
  community by facilitating international
  collaborative projects. Encourage (national)
  visibility of the research activities in the
  different projects (FNR has a role as an
  information dissemination platform).
• Funding process
• Continuously monitor scientific quality and
  productivity. Best way is via peer review
  (including site visits) by outside experts.
  Regularly demand accountability from researchers
  and administrators to ensure that public funds
  are well spent. Support what works, abolish what
  doesnt.
• Human resource development
• It is important to create a critical mass of
  experienced researchers and infrastructure in
  Luxembourg to attract scientists from abroad.

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Balance to be sought in objectives for FNR
funding for research in Luxembourg?
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Priority analysis
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Trends at the international level 54 emerging
domains
Competition level

• Identified from
• Foresight projects conducted by the European
  Commission
• Research priorities identified from 13 comparator
  countries
• FNR 2005 call for programme proposals
• Interviews and questionnaires

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Online questionnaire
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Level of Granularity
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Online Questionnaire

• Questionnaire open to a full range of stakeholders

283 questionnaires usable
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How is a domain assessed?

• Attractiveness
• Societal need
• Economic need
• Emerging trend
• Sustainable development need
• Feasibility
• Scientific base
• Economic base
• Regional partners
• Competition intensity
• Extent to which the research domain is being
  prioritised by other countries.
• Note, this particular point requires careful
  consideration, as it is complicated by the fact
  that for Luxembourg to reap benefit of
  prioritising a research domain its scientists
  will also need to be part of a wider community of
  scientists where knowledge exchange is important.

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4 common domains amongst top domains selected by
public private sector
Source online questionnaire results Note
coloured circles refer to competition level from
other countries e.g. red high, amber
medium, and green low
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Attractiveness Feasibility Matrix
Clustering
VERY HIGH
feasibility
HIGH
MEDIUM
MEDIUM
HIGH
VERY HIGH
Attractiveness
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4 Types of Domains
Type 1

• Very high attractiveness and high feasibility (3)

Type 2

• High attractiveness and high feasibility / Very
  high attractiveness and medium feasibility (30)

• High attractiveness and medium feasibility /
  medium attractiveness and high feasibility (20)

Type 3

• Medium attractiveness and medium feasibility (1)

Type 4
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Exploratory workshop

• Aim
• Discuss and validate prioritisation results from
  Questionnaire
• Analyse strategic context for prioritisation
• Strategic Options
• Build critical mass to develop the business base
• Scientific excellence strategy
• Differentiation strategy (niches)
• Sustain diversity in Luxembourg
• Research for sustainability

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Definition of Level
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Phase 1 Preliminary Prioritisation
level
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Roadmap for ICT

• Domain priorities and check coherence with domain
  profile
• Priority 1 Security and trust, e-services
• Priority 2 Telecommunications, Multimedia,
• Priority 3 Business and IT, Interactive
  computing technologies, Adaptivity, Modelling
  and simulation technologies
• ICT strategy is mostly option 1 (user oriented)
• Because of proximity to application areas and
  involvement of users in their development
• Rationale
• Immediate benefits to SMEs in this sector
• National action plan e-Luxembourg
• ESA membership and related opportunities
• Common ground for research and economic
  activities
• There is an existing resource base both economic
  (major companies e-bay) and research
• FP7 priority
• Implementation issues for phase 2
• Close collaboration with the industry/private
  sector (Coordination with Luxinnovation)
• Close collaboration with ministry of economy,
  ministry classes moyennes (in view of
  e-services)
• Stimulate closer collaboration ICT activities at
  CRPs and the University.
• Could be developed quite rapidly into FNR
  programme (beginning 2007)

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Roadmap for Physical Sciences and Engineering

• Domain priorities and check coherence with domain
  profile
• Priority 1 Nanosciences and nanotechs,
  Materials with novel properties,
  Supramolecular functional materials
• Priority 2 Engineering, Business
  opportunities from space, Industrial design
  technology (Modelling and simulation numerical
  methods, integration of them in the design
  process)
• Some domains from priority 1 are in line with
  strategic option 2.
• Materials strategy is balanced between option 1
  and 2
• Proximity to application areas and involvement of
  users in their development
• Rationale
• Support local industry in the short term for
  option 1 domains or prepare future applications
  by building scientific excellence in specific
  research axis
• Collaboration between public and private sector
  already existing
• Existing clusters
• Implementation issues for phase 2
• Finding research axis in Nanosciences and
  nanotechs and Supramolecular functional
  materials domains where to build scientific
  excellence with longer term application potential
  and identify international potential partners
• For Materials with novel properties develop
  projects in collaboration with industry
• Coordinate with the Ministry of Economy and
  Luxinnovation

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Roadmap for Life Sciences

• Domain priorities and check coherence with domain
  profile
• Priority 1 21st century challenges and
  life-style diseases
• Priority 2 Cardio-Vascular disease,
  Oncology, Infectious diseases and immunity,
  Biochemistry and cell biology, Food and human
  nutrition, Agriculture
• Life Science strategy is a option 3 (a
  differentiation strategy)
• Most competitive thematic area
• Luxembourg has already some comparative
  advantages (cancer tissue bank, epidemiology
  resource base, population structure and diversity
  )
• Rationale (for identifying comparative
  advantages)
• M. of Economy wants to create favourable
  environment for biotech companies
• Address societal/health issues
• Build on existing strengths and partnership of
  CRPs with other actors (e.g. CHL)
• High spill over potential in multi-disciplinary
  domains
• Implementation issues for phase 2
• Identify existing comparative advantages
  underlying above domains
• Luxembourgs particular scientific strengths
• Domains with relatively low competition
• Highly attractive and feasible domains

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Roadmap for Environmental Sciences

• Domain priorities and check coherence with domain
  profile
• 4 domains are identified as a second tier
  priority.
• Environmental sciences strategy is mostly option
  1 (not only business but also users)
• Fulfilment of legislative requirements (EU,
  Kyoto)
• Meeting societal demands
• Build on ties of public research and users to be
  attractive for companies Rationale for these
  priorities in Environment
• Existing scientific base clusters in most of
  these domains
• Environmental issues specific for Lux.
• Increasing legal obligations
• Implementation issues for phase 2
• How many domains should be effectively supported
• Coordination with the Ministry of Environment and
  Ministry of Agriculture, Viticulture and Rural
  Development
• Suitable collaboration with users
  (Agricultural/enviro. meetings)

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Roadmap for Economy, law and finance

• New Field issuing from EWS discussion. Apparent
  need to treat separately from Social Sciences
• Areas identified during EWS
• Improving Business Environment
• Regulation, Governance and European Integration
• Economy, law and finance strategy relies mostly
  on option 1 and 3
• Business orientated and support for Luxembourg
  specific applications/niches
• Rationale
• Business environment strengthening contributes to
  economic competitiveness
• Strong demand from PMEs/Firms for Managerial
  sciences (lack of researchers)
• Financial place Luxembourg and Luxembourg School
  of Finance
• European Court of Justice and related law
  services
• Developing scientific base at the UL
• Innovation in financial services
• Analysis of legislative framework
• Implementation issues for phase 2
• Map existing competences
• Coordination with the Ministry of economy,
  Ministry des classes moyennes, BCL, ABBL, BEI,
  Court of Justice, LSF

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Roadmap for Social sciences and humanities

• Two large areas have been identified plus one
  interdisciplinary domain
• School, work, qualifications, welfare
• Culture, Language Diversity, History, Identity
• One interdisciplinary domain (with Health and
  medical sciences) Ageing
• Social sciences and humanities strategy relies
  mostly on option 1 (societal need) and option 2
• Social/cultural issues have to be taken up by
  research to guide policy/knowledge society
• Scientific excellence improve methods for social
  sciences in Luxembourg FNR should work as
  standard implementing body
• Rationale for these priorities
• Labour market problems unemployment rising
  transborder workers import
• Ageing demographic challenge and planning ahead
  existing base in current programmes
• Cultural issues important in the multi-cultural
  context in view of social cohesion
• Multilingualism is a niche for Luxembourg
  potential for multi-disciplinarity with ICT
• Developing scientific base at the UL and CEPS
• Setting standards for data and methodology
• Implementation issues for phase 2
• Coordination with Ministry of Culture, Education,
  Labour, Social Security, Family, Health, Economy
  (statistics) and other relevant actors and users
• Ageing continue Forum activities
• Work/labour markets/social security greater
  region relevant
• Competence building

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Strategic support for public research

• Strategic Options
• Build critical mass to develop user driven
  research activities
• Scientific excellence strategy
• Differentiation strategy (niches)
• Sustain diversity in Luxembourg
• Recommended strategy
• Commitment to Lisbon strategy and Barcelona
  targets and objectives
• Sustainable economic growth
• Social cohesion
• Respect for the environment
• strategy specific for each Domain specific
  varying from
• Very close alignment of research (projects) with
  private sector
• Building a strong research/science base for
  developing economic opportunities and social
  issues

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Overall Results

• Stakeholder identification and initial
  involvement
• Networking within research community
• Networking within agencies
• Roadmap for Foresight in several domains
• Good basis for 2nd phase

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Key issues for prioritisation

• Research competency is broadly spread across many
  domains making prioritisation difficult
• Prioritisation will mean that consensus needs to
  be found amongst all stakeholders on a limited
  champion domains for Luxembourg

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Evaluation of Phase 1

• Michael Keenan

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FNR Foresight

• Phase 2 and beyond

www.fnr.lu
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Timescale

• Proposal of set of national priorities to the
  Government in march 2007
• Assess suitability of public funding instruments
• FNR programmes
• Centre of competence
• Performance contracts
• Greater Region funding scheme, etc.
• Implementation of Foresight results through
  public funding instruments by 2008
• Continue Foresight culture

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FNR Foresight outline Phase 2

• Environmental sciences
• Bio-medical sciences
• Information communication technologies
• Physical sciences and engineering
• Social sciences and humanities
• Law, Economy and Finance

Phase 1 Results
Input Papers
Desk Research
Expert Panel Workshops 1
Expert Panel Workshop 1
Expert Panel Workshop 1
Stakeholder Workshop
Challenges for Luxembourg
Interim Reports
Priorities/ Recommendations to the Ministries
Expert Panel Workshops 2
Final Report
Expert Panel Workshop 1
Expert Panel Workshop 1
FNR programmes
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Phase 1 Preliminary Prioritisation
level
Field A
Field B
Field C
Field D
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2
area
Domain
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Phase 2 Prioritisation
level
Field A
Field B
Field C
Field X
1
2
area
Domain
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Overall assessment
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Phase 2 Prioritisation
level
Field A
Field B
Field C
Field D
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2
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Domain
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1
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Higher level Prioritisation Political choice
based on assessment Translate priorities into
funding mechanisms
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• Thank You