The renewed momentum for European Union (EU) enlargement has created a demand for anticipatory policy support to strengthen research and innovation systems in the candidate countries. Foresight offers a strategic tool to meet this demand, enabling policymakers to prepare for uncertainty by identifying key drivers of change, exploring alternative futures, and deriving policy options.
The project is structured into five interconnected tasks.
The project starts with the identification and analysis of main trends and drivers shaping the Research & Innovation (R&I) landscape across all EU enlargement countries (Task 1). On this basis, a set of contrasting yet plausible future scenarios for research and innovation in the enlargement region is developed by using a critical-uncertainty matrix (Task 2). These scenarios are subsequently translated into concrete, country-level policy recommendations through expert workshops, producing concise policy memos for each of the ten enlargement countries (Task 3). In parallel, a cross-regional comparison moves beyond individual perspectives and identifies common challenges, region-specific dynamics and differentiated pathways for EU support, distinguishing between immediate and structural measures (Task 4). The results are synthesised and disseminated in clear, policy-oriented and user-friendly formats, including a concise highlights document and a comprehensive final report (Task 5).
