Foresight activities explore the future of scientific and technological achievements and their potential impacts on society. It aims to identify the areas of scientific research and technological development most likely to bring about change and drive economic, environmental and social benefits for the future. Methods used for this are highly participatory, engaging different types of stakeholders and experts from different backgrounds. They also include a wide range of qualitative and quantitative methods and are generally applied to identify plausible futures to allow organizations to be better prepared for future changes, identify key drivers of change and trends, evaluate the need for action in support of policy changes and identify key questions for targeted research.
