Foresight as a Dialogue about the Future Should be as Broad as Possible
The annual meeting of the International Advisory Council of the HSE Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge took place on 14 November. This year the Council convened before the “Foresight and STI Policy” conference, so discussions of the ISSEK’s 2018 results, its plans for the next year, and approaches and techniques for studying and foreseeing S&T development occasionally overlapped with the conference agenda. The debates highlighted major trends which could affect relevant policies in the coming years.
Scenarios for the Future, and S&T Development Goals will be Discussed at the HSE Foresight Conference
Strategic planning skills are increasingly often seen as a core competence for the 21st century; researchers are trying to measure regions’ and whole countries’ readiness for the future, while futures studies the world over are conducted on an impressive scientific foundation. On 15-16 November the VIII International Academic Conference “Foresight and STI Policy” will take place in Moscow. Participants from more than 15 countries will present tens of case studies reflecting practices of international organisations (such as OECD, UNESCO, European Commission), governments, major companies, leading universities and R&D centres; analyse global development scenarios and challenges, cutting-edge foresight approaches and tools, and best practices of measuring and monitoring progress in the science, technology and innovation sphere.
Supporting Innovative Clusters: the Evolution of Formats
On the third day of the VII Open Innovations Forum Evgeny Kutsenko, Head of the HSE ISSEK Russian Cluster Observatory took part in two panel discussions. The first one focused on new tools for providing support to innovative clusters – world-class investment appeal leaders, while the second was devoted to Moscow’s prospects of becoming a global innovation centre by concentrating its creative and production potential around an innovative cluster.
The World of Innovation: from Indicators to Policies
One of the round table discussions at the VII Open Innovation Forum (15-17 October, Skolkovo) focused on using various indices and rankings to adjust goals and objectives, and assess effectiveness of innovation policies. HSE ISSEK members Vitaly Roud and Evgeny Kutsenko took part in the debates, speaking about applying the Global Innovation Index and the ISSEK-maintained Russian Regional Innovation Development Ranking in management practices on the regional and city levels.
Growth Points in the Agro-industrial Sector: Doubling Export Volumes, Deepening Processing, Smart Specialisation and Packaging
In the next seven years, Russian farmers should reach export volumes twice as high as current figures. Opportunities and directions for the advanced development of regional exports of agricultural products were discussed by the participants in the panel discussion held on October 12 in the framework of the business programme of the ХХ Russian Agro-industrial exhibition 'Golden Autumn'. Alexander Chulok, director of the Centre for Science and Technology Foresight of ISSEK, acted as moderator of the event organised by the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia jointly with the ISSEK HSE.
Alexander Chulok Made a Presentation at the 2nd Climate Forum of Russian Cities
On 6–7 September, the Moscow City Government Department of Natural Resources Management and Environmental Protection hosted the 2nd Climate Forum of Russian Cities. Alexander Chulok, Director of the HSE ISSEK Centre for Science and Technology Foresight, took part in the panel session 9 'Present-Day Science: Digest of the Global Research'. He made the presentation 'Mapping the Global S&T Landscape for the City of Moscow: Possibilities Offered by Big Data Analysis'.
Triple Helix in Manchester
The University of Manchester (UK) hosted the XVI International Triple Helix Conference on 5-8 September, 2018. The ISSEK was represented by Mikhail Gershman, Deputy Director of the Centre for S&T, Innovation and Information Policy who presented new indicators which could help improve efficiency of public administration in the Russian R&D sphere.
Biomedical Clusters: an International Experience for Moscow’s Infrastructure
What is a healthy city, how many residents of the capital adhere to a healthy lifestyle, what are the opportunities for this in Moscow? These and other issues were discussed on August 27 in the press centre of TASS at the panel discussion ‘Infrastructure of a healthy city’, organised by the Foundation of the International Medical Cluster, Moscow Centre of urban studies ‘City’ and VCIOM. The event was attended by Evgeniy Kutsenko, head of the HSE ISSEK Russian Cluster Observatory.
Ozcan Saritas Took Part in the 4th Asia-Pacific Futurists Network Conference
On August 28-29, 2018, the 4th Asia-Pacific Futurists Network Conference was held in Bangkok. On August 30, among the associated events of the conference, the opening ceremony of the Innovation Foresight Institute took place, founded at the initiative of the National Innovation Agency of Thailand. Deputy Head of the ISSEK Research Laboratory for Science and Technology Studies Ozcan Saritas attended these events.
Global Сhallenges to Moscow
The Moscow City Department of Industrial Policy and Entrepreneurship, the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Higher School of Economics held a joint field foresight session in the scope of setting up the Moscow Innovation and Production Cluster. More than 200 experts — representatives of the research and education community, innovative businesses, and public authorities discussed priority areas for development of the capital city’s S&T sector, global trends affecting the city’s economy, and incentives and cooperation mechanisms which would help to make a technological leap.