Regional authorities and development agencies from across the EU met in Maastricht on 28 – 29 May to share practical ways of using “strategic foresight” — a method of exploring possible future scenarios to inform today’s decisions — to prepare for economic, technological and climate pressures.
The meeting was held during the OECD Global Forum on Local Development and was organised by the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the European Association of Development Agencies (EURADA, the CoR informed in a release on Thursday.
Bert Kuby, Deputy Director at the CoR, described the committee’s work supporting local and regional authorities to develop foresight skills and to use future-focused approaches in policymaking.
He said foresight processes should be linked to concrete policy implementation.
Examples were presented by several regions and development agencies on how the approach is being used to support economic change and resilience.
Robbert Koldenhof, Director of LIOF — the regional development agency of Limburg in the Netherlands — described Limburg’s shift away from coal dependence towards innovation ecosystems built around the Brightlands campuses.
Elisabetta Maini, who leads the Research, Innovation and European Networks sector in Italy’s Emilia-Romagna regional government, said recent crises had led the region to integrate foresight into its research and innovation strategies, and referred to limits in traditional planning cycles.
Investment tools, labour markets and climate adaptation
Antonio Castro, Director-General of Andalucía TRADE in Spain, presented “horizon scanning” approaches — a way of tracking emerging trends — alongside investment tools aimed at supporting mid-sized companies.
He also referred to strategic projects including an IMEC semiconductor hub in Málaga.
Venla Virkamäki, Innovation Manager at the Helsinki-Uusimaa Regional Council in Finland, shared examples of foresight being applied in areas including labour markets, climate adaptation and youth engagement.
Participants reported shared challenges across regions, including industrial transformation, talent development, climate adaptation and economic uncertainty.
They also referred to Interreg Europe projects, including Strategic Foresight Partnership and Intensifying Cross-Sectoral Innovation within the EU, as platforms for peer learning and experimentation.
