Foresight Communication Strategy [email protected] 1 Foresight Communication Strategy Lisa Pace...

Foresight Communication Strategy [email protected]

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Foresight Communication Strategy

Lisa Pace

Malta Council for Science & Technology

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


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Barriers for the use and application of Foresight as a tool for Policy-making:

• Shifting from the conventional planning process, which is backward looking and relying on current experience, to a foresight mindset which is about “linking long term vision-building process with immediate action planning and implementation”.

• Understanding the concepts of foresights.

• Linking foresight applications to policy-making and management at different levels: regional, national, company-levels.


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Overall Objective of a Communication Strategy:

“To generate a process of dialogue - high level of interaction and learning - among all those involved in the foresight exercise or in some way targeted by it through various media over the lifecycle of the project from start-up to implementation and diffusion”.

Broad lines of a Communication Strategy:• Moving individuals and groups away from pre-

determined paths and patterns of behaviour to explore ways forward – a core “learning” objective of a foresight exercise. Persuasion.


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• Factoring in foresight’s capacity of addressing and unveiling the constraints to society’s acceptance of the impacts of science, technology and innovation – establishing a science-society dialogue.

• Fostering an actor-oriented and participatory approach in the foresight exercise and more generally in the policy- and decision-making cycles.

• Targeting communications and interactions between stakeholders, specifically leading to consensus-building and commitment of stakeholders.


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Importance of Communications in Foresight

• Moves beyond one-way interaction (the supply demand chain) and generates interaction and mutual learning among participants.

• Helps embed the FOUR core defining elements of foresight i.e. learning, processes, skills and creative thinking beyond the project implementation phase.


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Planning a Communication Strategy

The Communication Strategy delivers Information as:• Data• Knowledge (analysis and recommendations)• Visions (future projections based on knowledge).

Communication is about developing stakeholder specific communication tools and media to encourage interactions and learning among different stakeholder groups and evaluating the learning generated.


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What to Communicate?3 Types or levels of Communication defined:

• Communicate information on the broad aims of the foresight exercise – “setting the scene” and securing a level of interest of participants.

• Communicate information on foresight as a process, sets of approaches and tools, and as a mindset.

• Communicate information on the specific theme or issues being addressed – focussing on the core theme of the foresight exercise. Market Research and Technology Watch.


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Provide tailored information specific to the needs or

profiles of different stakeholder groups by using:

• Simple easy-to-understand language used in presenting the information – use of images.

• Use of specific keywords which target specific audiences.

• Amount of quantitative versus qualitative data provided (quantitative data may more appealing to experts whilst non-experts prefer descriptive data).

• Use of graphs and diagrams to complement text.

• Presentation of case studies on foresight and/or success stories which emerged from similar exercises.


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Planning a Communication Strategy When is the right time to communicate?

• Communication must be on a regular basis throughout the foresight process and beyond its completion (diffusion stage).

• A pro-active approach is needed as stakeholders are often busy, not available at all times and may lose motivation.


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A Phased Approach to Communication Pre-planning stage of exercise

Appointment of Communications Officer and Formulation of Communications Strategy

Start-up of Foresight Exercise: Scoping and stakeholder mapping

Profiling and clustering of stakeholders. Communication skills training targeted at technical

secretaries/champions/leaders. Distribution of generic information to stakeholders. Launch events; media coverage; press releases.

On-going Foresight Process

Dissemination of information on process/content of exercise in the form of publications, reports, press articles.

Increased stakeholder involvement through workshops/awareness-raising events/training.

Publications relating to methodologies. Participating of Project Implementation Team in

international workshops, conferences (externalisation) Reporting (by technical secretaries) on the effectiveness

of the communication strategy.

End-Phase of Foresight Process

Dissemination of results/recommendations. Evaluation of Communications strategy through an

analysis of level of learning and interactions (networking) generated and spin-offs which emerged.

Reporting back to the Project Implementation team on the effectiveness of the Communication Strategy.


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Who should be involved in the Communication process?

• The Project Implementation Team as co-ordinators through a Communications officer.

• Technical secretaries and Champions as facilitators within the panels.

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An Outline for a Communication Strategy

A Foresight Exercise often lacks a formal Communications Strategy. This


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Step 1 : Management

Project Implementation Team - Focal Point to drive the Communication Strategy & Foresight programme


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Communications Officer within the Core Implementation Team:

Tasks: • Formulating a tailor-made strategy which is compatible

with the objectives and context of the exercise and which can be implemented in a reasonable timeframe.

• Providing communication skills training to the technical secretaries supporting the work of the panels/steering groups.

• Acting as the focal point for collection and dissemination of information on the exercise as this proceeds towards completion.


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Step 2: Analysing the Communication Needs:

• What are the needs/expectations and concerns of the stakeholders? Mapping these needs help determine the objectives of the strategy.

• Sponsors and clients (politicians) impose pressures to produce tangible foresight products by the end of the exercise in terms of visions, priority setting etc.

• Stakeholders involved in the process impose different sets

of needs:

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• The need to be convinced of the utility of foresight and to be kept engaged in the process;

• Varied foresight training and learning needs which change over time;

• They demand space and attention for their concerns/interests

• They generally also demand tangible results for their area of interest in the short-term.

Society as a whole is not in a position to impose pressures or needs. Foresight exercises can easily be captured by short-term pressures and needs. The challenge is how to ensure that in practice the long-term perspective and societal “learning” challenges are truly addressed.


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Step 3: Setting-out the Objectives of the Communication Strategy within the context of the

Foresight Exercise

What is the purpose of the Strategy? What are the goals it sets out to achieve? These could include:

• Embedding a foresight culture.

• Instilling a sense of ownership in the foresight process at various levels including the political, organisational and citizen levels.

• Enhancing participation in the foresight process.

• Encouraging learning

• Raising awareness on a particular issue being addressed by the exercise.


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Embedding a Foresight Culture

The Communication Strategy should aim to broaden that group of stakeholders who bear the

necessary mindset, skills, and tools to (1) participate in and or implement a foresight

exercise and/or (2) transpose the above in their respective organisations or institutions.

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Step 4: Mapping & Profiling Stakeholders In the context of a Communication Strategy, a stakeholder is

an individual or group to whom a message is to be presented and elaborated in an effective manner using one/more tools and media throughout the duration of the foresight exercise.

The message could be in the form of:

knowledge/information/know-how/recommendations/prioritised generated at any stage of the foresight process.

A vital phase of the Strategy is the Stakeholder Mapping and Profiling exercise which provides information on the characteristics of the participants in the exercise. This influences the entire communications approach.


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Step 4: Mapping – Identifying - Stakeholders

the process of identifying stakeholders has been described as an “art” in itself. The politician and decision-maker are vital enablers of the foresight exercise though they are not the only stakeholders.

A key success criterion could be the involvement of new actors beyond the well-established players or “usual suspects” in the domain being addressed.

Seek to engage specialist local knowledge.


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Step 4: Stakeholder Profiling• Producing a stakeholder profile requires knowledge of the

stakeholder individual/institution and could be based on an analysis of the following traits of the stakeholders mapped:

• Background knowledge on the foresight process.

• Level of expertise on the topic/theme being addressed by the foresight exercise.

• Level of expertise/awareness on foresight.

• Level of interest in foresight

• Profile of person/organisation: is he/she a strategic player? Is he/she representing private/public sector interests and at what level: decision-making/policy-implementation.


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Stakeholder clusters (groupings):

The profiles enable the grouping of stakeholders into clusters which describe their level of interest, competencies and mindset in the foresight process and the theme being addressed by the exercise.


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Stakeholder clusters (groupings) Examples:

• Socio-cultural clustering of individual stakeholders and representative organisations.

• Public-private sector clusters. • Academic clusters.• Power-interest clusters i.e. mapping the level of

interest of the stakeholder versus the level of power.• Expert and non-expert clusters – assessing level of

expertise in the theme(s) being addressed.• Foresight practitioners and “newcomers” – level of

know-how.


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Aim of Profiling & Clustering:

• Specific communication tools (media) should be used for interacting with and engaging defined stakeholder groups or clusters.

• The choice of the tools (media) is often determined by socio-cultural considerations. Individual interviews versus discussion forums. Small groups versus conference set-ups.

• Identifying connectors between clusters. Concept of targeting institutions, industry and individuals in parallel. Creating an industry-Public-Private Triad of Stakeholder involvement.


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Step 5: Identifying cluster-specific

communication channels

The aim is to identify methodologies and tools to promote improved communications and social learning within the identified/targeted cluster groups and thus enhance stakeholder engagement.

The Communications Strategy aims to take stakeholders from Cluster level 0 to level 3 throughout the lifetime of the foresight exercise and beyond.


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Stakeholder

Cluster

Stakeholder

Characteristics – Examples of possible

permutations

Cluster-Specific Communication Tools or Media

Level 0 Lay public

Public sector newcomers

Foresight knowledge Thematic Expertise Awareness/Interest

Media coverage providing generic information; Television/radio interviews, articles and press releases by foresight experts/practitioners and project implementation team.

Level 1

Decision-makers in the public and private

sectors Policy-makers

Foresight Knowledge Thematic Expertise Awareness/Interest

Website updated with conference proceedings, videos of conference presentations, links etc; public web-forums; brochures; awareness-raising events; training in foresight basics; brainstorming events; one-to-one interviews; newsletters

Level 2 NGOs

Industry, including SMEs


Training in foresight basics; Scenario workshops; involvement in panels’ videoconferencing; recording the foresight process.

Level 3

Academia/researchers


Mailing lists; Delphi questionnaires; preparation of vision document and recommendations.

Level 3 Foresight

Experts/Practitioners


Face-to-face communication via one-to-one interviews; Interaction with experts may be sporadic and necessary to seek expert advice. Expert workshops and one-off reports.


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Step 7: Evaluating the Communication Strategy

A system of reporting by technical secretaries/champions on key outputs in terms of:

• Formal and informal learning processes established during the foresight exercise.

• Knowledge created and shared.

• Creativity elicited in the form of spin-off events.

• Networks consolidated and/or born during the foresight exercise.


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Iterative nature of Foresight also apparent in the links with the Communications Strategy

Communication Strategy

Foresight Exercise

Start-up and Implementation

OUTPUTS

feedback loop

Proactive dialogue amongst stakeholder clusters.

Investment in foresight Skills and facilitation in foresight techniques.

Prioritization of key issues in theme addressed.

Action lines proposed.

Mobilization for investment in R&D funding.


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Potential Constraints/Drawbacks:

• Time

• Specific communications skills lacking

• Resources availability (human and financial)

• Socio-cultural barriers.


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Thank you for your attention

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