How to create national foresight culture and capacity: case study South Africa

Abstract

In this work we look at the collaboration projects between COFISA Y SAFIPA, which were set up by the department of external affairs in Finland between 2006 and 2010 in cooperation with South Africa. COFISCA’s objective was to help increase the effectiveness of the national innovation system, contribute to the growing economy and in turn, help tackle poverty. For their part, the goal of the SAFIPA project was to support the creation in an environment that would make it easier to develop and deploy the TIC application services for the benefit of the South African citizens. Public awareness and the creation of foresight and innovation strategy capacities in business development played an important role in both programs. The results of both projects included: Future images, scenarios, visions, innovations, action plans, policy recommendations, matter capacities of foresights and networks. The next challenge will be to inculcate these types of “Foresight and Innovation” procedures both at a regional and national level with the aim of them becoming something customary and so that we can speak about a culture of foresight and cooperation.