International Practice in Technology Foresight

A UNIDO Regional Conference on Technology Foresight for Central and Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States was held in Vienna on 4 and 5 April 2001 to build awareness of the usefulness of technology foresight in designing strategies for technological development. This book is a selection of expert papers prepared for the conference.
There is a need for new technology and industrial policies that balance competitiveness against unemployment, inequality, sustainability and risk. This requires new policy-making tools and technology foresight is a prominent tool among them. Technology foresight is a relatively new mechanism for strategic decision-making. Its wide application in certain countries dates back to the beginning of the 1990s and is highly regarded as a tool for anticipating future market demand and designing development strategies for transnational companies.