Project

The goal is to identify and explore possible scenarios for a future “pan-European ecosystem of research and technology infrastructures”.

Specifically, the following objectives are to be addressed:

1. Identify the trends, megatrends and weak signals for the long-term evolution, potentials and needs of RTI from a European perspective
2. Proposal of plausible scenarios for RTIs, that consider European RTIs in their ecosystems and their contribution to European scientific and technological competitiveness
3. Map the implications of the identified trends and proposed scenarios for European RTIs governance and policy, mainly from an EU perspective

The tasks and deliverables are elaborated and underpinned by a robust methodological foresight approach that essentially contains an expert-based scenario development and analysis process. The scenario process will be based on a thorough context analysis of influencing factors which will shape the future of Europe’s Research RTI up to 2040, combined with a trend analysis to identify mega trends and weaker signals of change or possible disruptions of relevance for RTI.

The contextual analysis follows the STEEP logic which covers technological developments (e.g. Artificial Intelligence/AI, quantum technology, deep tech), and additionally societal (e.g. demographic change, social inequalities), environmental (e.g. climate change impacts, water supply), economic (e.g. supply chains, industry structures), and political developments (e.g. geopolitical tensions, global power shifts).

The study identifies opportunities and risks for European RTI, maps the cross-scenario implications for governance or policy actions, and derive actions needed to meet the overall goals of the EC around depending on RTIs. The outcomes will be prepared for target-specific communication forms and presented to the main target group of policymakers and public in a final event.