Title: The impact of foresight studies on human healthcare in the post-genomic era

Authors: Nares Damrongchai, Ron Johnston, Greg Tegart

Addresses: APEC Center for Technology Foresight, National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), 73/1 Rama VI Rd., Rajdhevee, Bangkok 10400, Thailand. ' Australian Centre for Innovation, Faculty of Engineering, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. ' Centre for Strategic Economic Studies, Victoria University, City Campus, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia

Abstract: Under the conditions of increased demand for ways of addressing the future through strategic intelligence, foresight is progressively being embedded as a planning, consultation and decision making tool. A typology of foresight outcomes is developed in order to more effectively evaluate, and assess the impact of foresight on policy. A case study of a recent multi-national foresight project which examined human health care in the post-genomic era demonstrates the crucial role of foresight in providing a means to grasp the complexity of the potential impacts, for reconciling the many different perspectives involved, and for providing a sound basis for future policies. The impact of the project is assessed against the various possible outcomes.

Keywords: foresight; scenario planning; Delphi; genomics; biotechnology; human healthcare; social impact; economic impact.

DOI: 10.1504/IJFIP.2010.032671

International Journal of Foresight and Innovation Policy, 2010 Vol.6 No.1/2/3, pp.151 - 165

Published online: 11 Apr 2010 *

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