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This article revisits a paper written by Denis Loveridge 15 years ago about the merit or otherwise of the long view versus its short‐term counterpart. The paper revisits the notions set out in 1988 and enlarges them, by making use of the authors’ practical experience. Two notions lay at the heart of the paper: the question of what people will value in their lives, and Maxwell’s notion of a philosophy of “wisdom”. The authors contrast this view with those seeking an epistemological basis for foresight, concluding that the latter does not have much to offer those who conduct foresight for prosaic aims in business and the public sphere.

The purpose of this paper is to create ways of improving the alignment of strategy formulation and implementation in Brazil’s higher education institutions (HEIs).

Evolution of scenarios and models through a 12-step process to assist strategy formulation and implementation for managerial/social activity in Brazil’s HEIs. Simple set theory was used as a backbone to assist scenario building. Two models were created. First, focused on an autopoietic model relating to Brazil’s HEIs. The second embedded the autopoietic model in a limited number of forces in Brazil that influence the HEIs but lie beyond their control. The process was corroborated by survey methods using respondents from Brazil and elsewhere.

In total, 22 respondents from within and outside Brazil confirmed the content of the scenarios while a small sample from within Brazil’s HEIs confirmed their usefulness in assisting strategy formulation and implementation.

Further experience in using the autopoietic model is needed to widen its corroboration beyond experience in this study.

Confirmation of a 12-step scenario-based process for strategy formulation and implementation and corroboration of its usefulness through a limited sample of respondents.

This paper aims to present a set of strategic options for Research and Innovation (R&I) stakeholders in the light of new and emerging ways of organising and performing research.

The paper first reviews the evolution of the R&I landscape and identifies the most influential stakeholders engaged in R&I. In the light of the scenarios developed for the year 2030, a set of strategic options are identified and assessed for each stakeholder group.

R&I systems are now more complex than 50 years ago and will be even more in the future. Radical changes are expected in terms of the ways research is funded, organised and carried out. Some of these transformations are captured by the scenarios developed. The analysis of scenarios indicated that their feasibility and desirability differ across different sectors of industry, and research areas within the research landscape.

Scenarios and strategies presented in the paper bring new considerations on the way research activities are practiced. Further research is considered to be useful on the new modes of research and implications for academia, industry, society and policy makers.

The discussion around the responses of different stakeholders vis-à-vis specific scenarios about the future in R&I practices and organisation gives a practical view about how to deal with associated emerging trends and issues.

Society is a crucial stakeholder of all R&I activities. The transformative scenarios suggest that society will not only be playing a reactive role on the demand side but also more proactive role on the supply side in the decades to come.

The paper is based on work undertaken within the Research and Innovation (RIF) 2030 project. As R&I activities will be important for the development and competitiveness of the EU and its member states, the work presented here is considered to be of value by highlighting how to create more resilient strategies in a fast-changing R&I landscape.

Most public foresight programmes in the 1990s limited participation to technological experts in the identified fields. However, almost all the programmes had an implied social dimension and several concluded that more inclusive participation was needed in future programmes. The paper aims to discuss how inclusiveness might be achieved.

At first sight extending participation seems eminently possible. Inclusiveness is a matter of definition and process that has been encountered in other foresight style activities where the opinions of the polity need to be taken into account. Definitions and processes form the core of our approach, using ideas from human behaviour, sustainability and corporate governance.

Learning how to extend participation has started through the German FUTUR programme and the creation of some online discussion forums. Some other programmes in The Netherlands (1996) and the UK (from 1998 onwards) have attempted to become more inclusive, with varying degrees of success.

The discussion is restricted to exploring some general principles related to making foresight programmes more inclusive. Some of the detail has been worked out but is not complete enough to be discussed.

Inclusiveness introduces specific management and process needs, if foresight programmes are to be extended into the social sphere without their becoming chaotic. The principles discussed imply a need for a change in mind‐set for foresight sponsors and practitioners.

None of these ideas have been used in practice and to that extent are original.

Technology foresight is becoming an important instrument in the policy‐making process in many countries. But unless foresight studies engage the full spectrum of users and industry sectors, they may never see implementation. In one study of the IT sector in Thailand, a tightly‐knit industry and the active participation of its trade association ensured maximum consultation and the most collective of visions. With a steering committee now monitoring implementation targets to 2010, what the Thai IT industry lacks in size it is making up for in resolution.

This article seeks to present approaches on the utilisation of expert information in strategic planning practices.

The article emphasises alternative scenario development for the bases of decision making. This is done through an evaluation of Delphi studies and their feasibility for scenario construction. As an application of the information processes, both narrow and broad expert information processes are presented as alternative sources for solutions in public sector strategic planning.

Basically, there are two alternative ways to utilise Delphi studies in strategic planning and decision making: a broad expert information process (BEIP) model; and a narrow expert information process (NEIP) model.

As a broad process, an example is presented of the alternative future outcomes and the argumentation around it in the share of genetically modified plant varieties in commercial farming in Finland.

This theoretical review contributes to the discussions of the linkages between the use of expert information, the scenario planning and the strategic planning processes.