the navigator network a futurewatch case study jane cameron ministry of research, science & tech...
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The Navigator NetworkA Futurewatch Case Study
Jane CameronMinistry of Research, Science & TechNew Zealand
2nd Annual Seville FTA SeminarSept 28-29, 2006
What is the Navigator Network?
The Navigator Network is a New Zealand-based national S&T scanning network.
It has been set up in association with the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology (MoRST) to:
–identify emerging science trends and innovations (particularly in biotechnology and nanotechnology); and
–to further explore those that may raise significant economic, social or environmental issues for New Zealand.
The project brings together individuals and organisations from the science and policy communities with insights into the dynamics of emerging science, technology and social change, both globally and in New Zealand.
The primary end-user of the Network’s findings are government agencies. Findings from the network provide input for policy and operations across government, including science policy, regulatory settings and public engagement.
Background What are the roots of this
initiative?
The Royal Commission on Genetic Modification
In 2000, the New Zealand Government convened a Royal Commission on Genetic Modification to look into and report on the issues surrounding GM in New Zealand.
The Royal Commission recommended that New Zealand develop a capability for what they called: “biotechnology futurewatch”
The New Zealand Biotechnology Strategy
The Government endorsed this recommendation in the New Zealand Biotechnology Strategy (2003)
MoRST was charged with the implementation of futurewatch to: “strengthen ways for New Zealand to forsee and make timely responses to emerging issues and opportunities relevant to biotechnology”
What do we mean by the term ‘futurewatch’?
The futurewatch approach is about:
looking at the edge – identifying potentially important things at the margins of current thinking, including both future issues and things at the periphery.
in an open way – bringing in a range of perspectives, considering uncertainties as well as certainties, being mindful of assumptions, imagining different possible futures, and leaving room for creativity
that considers the big picture – such as interactions in whole systems, thinking about risks as well as opportunities, and considering wider time horizons (history as well as future).
Methodological Approaches
The over-arching term ‘futurewatch’ therefore encompasses a range of futures methodologies.
Most specifically, as a means of gathering information & thinking about emerging S&T trends:
Environmental scanningSystems thinking
And as approaches to assessing & exploring the implications of these:Technology assessmentDialogic methods to facilitate conversations about the implications
of emerging technologies
Implementing Biotechnology Futurewatch
Phase I: OrientationBuilding Internal Capability (2003-04)
In Phase I of the futurewatch implementation we ‘oriented’ ourselves and built internal capability by completing a very broad global scan of emerging developments in biotechnology.
The scan: Futurewatch: Biotechnologies to 2025 identifies emerging biotechnology trends in: Health, Primary Production, Industrial & Environmental Biotechnology; and Security and Defence
Impacts of Biotechnologies to 2025
The trends and issues identified in the 2025 report have:
provided a “baseline” of trends with which to compare the emerging developments identified by the Navigator Network;
resulted in follow-up work in stem cells and industrial biotechnology; and
been used as an input for the OECD’s Bioeconomy to 2030 project.
Phase IIPutting in place a distributed S&T
scanning network:
The Navigator Network
MoRST’s has four key objectives for the Navigator Network:
1.Support discussion and a collective understanding of new and emerging science and technologies, how they may influence New Zealand’s future, and what actions may be required to address their challenges and opportunities.
2.Gather, synthesise and share information and support linkages in the exchange and convergence of ideas between policy and science communities.
3.Support the development of a culture of early thinking across government and more broadly;
4.Develop, apply and profile a New Zealand approach to environmental scanning.
At the core of the Navigator Network is the central scanning activity
To date a key focus of the Network has been to appoint and train a core group of scanners – researchers and experts active and aware of developments in biotechnology, nanotechnology and the socio-political context for science.
The Network is specifically designed for New Zealand
“conditions”
Interpreting the New Zealand context
On the whole New Zealanders are a
technologically literate people with a
good existing awareness of emerging
technology.
New Zealander’s also place importance
on considering developments in a wide
social, environmental, cultural and
economic context.
New Zealander’s have a particularly deep connection with the natural environment. This in turn has a strong influence on the set of values we bring to our views on emerging biotechnologies.
Royal Commission on Genetic ModificationNew Zealand has a small, horizontally connected government sector. Connections between agencies are therefore relativelyeasy to foster. A particular focus of these horizontal relationships are complex, cross-cutting issues, like emergingtechnologies.
New Zealand’s science capacity is predominantly in public owned research institutes and universities. But, compared with other countries, there is limited capacity in central government.
New Zealand has a strong biological-base to our economy with around 65% of total goods exports coming from the primary sector: agriculture, horticulture, forestry, fishing & food & beverage.
Specific Design Features to Achieve Outcomes
Design Feature One:A New Zealand-centric strategic focus
While the scope of the Navigator Network broadly encompasses biotechnology and nanotechnology, areas of ‘strategic focus’ for the New Zealand context have been selected.
Given the importance of agriculture to New Zealand’s economic & societal wellbeing the initial strategic focus of the Network is agricultural biotechnology and food and their interface with the environmental and social context.
Design Feature Two:Arms length from Government
Although MoRST is an active participant in the project team, the Network is managed by an independent team.
Placing the management of the Network external to government was deliberate to ensure that it could, if necessary, provide independent advice which can challenge existing institutional knowledge, world-views and horizons.
Design Feature Three:A “Knowledge Creation” rather than “Data Mining Approach”
Many of our objectives in designing this initiative are more oriented towards achieving “softer” outcomes (like supporting discussion and shared understanding between the policy and science communities)
The process of interpreting the implications of the scanning reports for New Zealand is therefore, geared more towards creating knowledge through social processes than “harder-edged” scientometric data-mining & technical assessment.
The Scanning Reporting Process
Draft Scanning Report
Quarterly reporting by contracted scanners
Synthesis of scanning observations into broad trends, thematic areas
ScanningWorkshop
Wider set of participants
Theme areas (ie. agricultural stakeholders, policy-makers and opinion leaders)
Workshop discussion using trends identified in Draft Scanning Report and discussion of the implications of these for New Zealand.
Updated Scanning Report
Report updated to reflect “value-add” from the Workshop process
Design Feature Four:Facilitating Uptake of Network ReportingTo facilitate uptake government officials are explicitly “embedded” in the process. This is achieved in two ways, officials act both as:
scanners – feeding their own scanning observations into the reporting cycles and thus capturing the “policy context”; and
interpreters – more senior officials attending the workshop sessions to offer their own insights into future implications for New Zealand.
The results of the Network are also channelled, where possible, through relevant existing networks and channels such as cross-departmental official’s groups
Design Feature Five:Building Futures CapabilityOne of the objectives of the Navigator Network is to build futures capability across the science and government sectors.
A primary foci of the Network is therefore to focus on training and developing the skills of the core group of scanners.
Putting the effort into training is resulting in more robust reporting as the scanners are learning over time the “truly new” compared to the “new to me”.
Design Feature Six:Built in Action Learning
The Network has a built in action research component. This emphasis on reflective practice gives this initiative a degree of flexibility which ensures that it is constantly focusing on what’s working best to achieve the project’s objectives and can re-orient its course accordingly.
What’s Working Well?
The Network is already resulting in positive impactsWe’re successfully building futures capability in the science and policy spheres
Stronger linkages are being built between the policy and science communities;
Network outputs are being channeled into a range of cross-government forums (both from methodological and subject specific perspectives); and
New cross-sectoral discussions about “the future of food” are in train that wouldn’t otherwise have occurred.
Next Steps
Evaluation planned: early 2007
The types of questions that will be explored further in the evaluation include:
Have better or more timely decisions have been made because of the discussions or insights arising from the Navigator Network?
Does this system approach to scanning better support government’s readiness to emerging technology developments than existing organisational approaches?
For further information:
The Navigator Network:
http://www.navigatornetwork.net.nz
The Ministry of Research, Science and Technology:
http://www.morst.govt.nz/current-work/futurewatch/
Key Contacts:
Ministry of Research, Science and TechnologyKatherine Silvester – Principal Adviser
[email protected] Jane Cameron – Adviser, Futurewatch
Navigator Network Project TeamDr Barbara Nicholas – Project Leader
[email protected] Karen Cronin – Project Team
Navigator Network: [email protected]