INCOBRA - Increasing International Science, Technology and Innovation Cooperation between Brazil and the European Union

The Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI analyzes the origins and impacts of innovations as an independent institute for society, politics and industry complementing the techno-scientific spectrum of the Fraunhofer Society. It´s expertise in the area of innovation research is based on the synergy of the technical, economic and social science knowledge of the staff members. A broad spectrum of advanced scientific theories, models, methods and social-science measurement instruments is applyed and continually developed, utilizing the empirical findings from the research projects conducted.

The Foresight Competence Center of Fraunhofer ISI generates alternative futures that integrate diverse perspectives, highlight room for manoeuvre, and open up options for different actor groups.

 System environments are screened for relevant trends and expectations using both qualitative and quantitative approaches such as futures surveys and creativity workshops.

Scenario and visioning processes are a specific focus of the foresight group at Fraunhofer ISI. These processes provide a wide range of normative, exploratory, transformative and participatory futures dialogs. Stakeholder participation is a crucial element of these foresight processes to jointly explore new options for shaping the future.

Novel methods and process designs are developed and tested for futures dialogs with a particular focus on:

• Revealing shared objectives and conflicting viewpoints within a group of actors and initiating a futures discourse (e.g. through Delphi Surveys, World Cafe, futures conferences)
• Highlighting future pathways and related options for action (e.g. storytelling, futures sketches)

Uncovering blind spots to overcome lock-in situations (e.g. through environmental scanning, trend and network analysis and bibliometric methods)