On foresight design and management: A classification framework for foresight exercises

While the expansion of foresight scope towards systemic processes and societal considerations has provided significant opportunities for learning and synchronised action between different business units and/or policy fields, it may also have caused digression and ambiguity in the practice and theory of the management of foresight processes. This is true, in particular, in contract research organisations that have faced major challenges to reorganise their foresight activities, as part of the changes in their innovation practices. This chapter examines this shift and consequent methodological responses at the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. In particular, it considers the design and implementation of recent VTT roadmapping and other foresight processes which typically apply and link diverse methods in order to best respond to case-specific expectations. This chapter also develops a coherent classification framework in support of the design and management of foresight processes. The experience of VTT is geared towards the coherent and modular application of foresight methods and the responsive of stakeholders