Call for contributions: “Future oriented-technology analysis” conference, 27 and 28 November 2014 in Brussels

• FTA and Innovation Systems
• Creative interfaces for forward looking activities
• Cutting edge FTA approaches

Abstracts of papers and posters can be submitted until Monday 23 June (midnight) through JRC’s website. Further details on the themes, the contributions, the scientific committee and other important dates can be found in this call-for-contributions.

The conference organisers encourage contributions from practitioners coming from science, business, policy-making and civil society organisations. The conference aims at bringing these communities together to engage in discussing the use and impacts of FTA approaches and to identify and explore possible synergies and future developments.

For the three themes of the 2014 FTA conference, contributions are sought either in the form of papers or posters and can either be scientific or practice-oriented as follows:

• Scientific papers should be empirically grounded, with a strong theoretical component and demonstrating critical or new methodological approaches.
• Practice-oriented papers should clearly demonstrate how FTA approaches have been implemented in practice to support policy-making and strategy processes.
• Posters should have a strong visual dimension and should clearly illustrate the process, outcomes and possible impacts of the applied FTA approach.

Abstracts should have a maximum of 500 words. Please note that only abstracts submitted directly through the online form will be considered. Abstracts should include a clear description of the contribution to the selected theme, the methodological approach, the results and/or impacts.

Since 2004, the JRC has organised four FTA conferences. These provide a common platform for the closely related communities of foresight, forecasting and technology assessment, where experts interact and help in guiding strategy, policy and decision-making to anticipate and shape future developments.

The key objective of the conference is to strengthen the international network of foresight academics and practitioners in business, civil society organisations and government. It is a unique occasion for participants from all continents to meet and mutually enrich their forward looking approaches.

Future-oriented Technology Analysis includes strategic foresight, forecasting and technology assessment. Technology can be understood as involving both a body of artefacts and practice as well as a body of understanding, which co-evolve with each other over time. From this perspective, technological systems are best understood as being composed of both physical technologies (i.e. in the form of components, combined systems and infrastructure), and social technologies (i.e. institutions, in the form of social patterns, constraints and mechanisms of behaviour such as social norms, routines, legislation, standards and economic incentive mechanisms).