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 pol-icymakers to prepare for uncertainty by identifying key drivers of change, exploring al-ternative futures, and deriving policy options.
The project is structured into five interconnected tasks.
Task 1 identifies the main trends and drivers shaping the Research & Innovation (R&I) landscape in all enlargement coun-tries through a combination of desk research and an expert survey.
Task 2 builds on this evidence to construct a set of contrasting scenarios on the future of research and innovation in the enlargement region, using a critical-uncertainty matrix to capture contrasting but plausible futures.
Task 3 translates the scenarios into concrete, country-level policy recommendations through expert workshops, producing concise policy memos for each of the ten enlarge-ment countries.
Task 4 moves beyond individual perspectives to deliver a cross-regional comparison, highlighting common challenges, region-specific dynamics, and differentiated pathways for EU support, with options distinguished between immediate and structural measures.
Task 5 synthesises the results and ensures their wide dissemination in user-friendly formats, including a highlights document and a comprehensive final report.
