Title: Public foresight exercises at an intermediate level: the French national programmes and the experience of Bordeaux

Authors: Marie-Claude Belis-Bergouignan, Yannick Lung, Jean-Alain Heraud

Addresses: IFREDE-E3i, Universite Montesquieu, Bordeaux, avenue Leon Duguit, 33608 Pessac, France. IFREDE-E3i, Universite Montesquieu, Bordeaux, avenue Leon Duguit, 33608 Pessac, France. BETA, CNRS and Universite Louis Pasteur, 38 Boulevard d'Anvers, 67000 Strasbour

Abstract: The article aims at describing an experience of technology foresight at the regional level. That experience was built upon previous national (and international) foresight studies. It is possible to analyse the institutional process of such a project in a global context, and also to draw some conclusions on the possibility and usefulness of articulating different geographical levels. The experience enlightens the notion of ||intermediate level|| in process of foresight, assessment or policy evaluation. Our study gives good confirmation of the fact that public technology foresight studies are often more valuable as a process of communication, network building and collective learning than for their results. The choice of the operators, their legitimacy and the right timing proved also to be crucial aspects for the success of such programs.

Keywords: foresight; innovation policy; science and technology evaluation; regional/national articulation; intermediate levels of policy; institutional context.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.2001.002946

International Journal of Technology Management, 2001 Vol.21 No.7/8, pp.726-738

Published online: 26 Jun 2003 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article