Aim and Tasks
The ESF Forward Look is a relatively new instrument, which was introduced in the ESF policy plan 2002-2006. It is meant to develop medium to long term views and analyses of future research developments in topics which will benefit from the insights in various disciplines, and with an interaction with the policy makers from ESF Members Organizations. The general aims of those new instruments and the tasks involved are quoted here.
The rationale is that the science community and the funding agencies increasingly need to be aware of the possible direction research will take in the future. This may assist the science community to develop international and pan-European approaches to research problems. And it may assist agencies to plan their resources to meet possible future demands for research, including the development of facilities and infrastructure.
To achieve this aim requires bringing together the best ideas and capabilities. Such a gathering of key actors in a given topic must aim at producing an assessment and recommendations of the highest scientific quality to be accepted by their scientific peers. At the same time, this should not inhibit adventurous forward thinking and sometimes ‘thinking the unthinkable’. Rather it should provide a means of exploring all ideas and new directions of research. It requires a balance between (a) assessments of ‘state of the art’, with (b) looking forward. A Forward Look should ideally provide a useful guide for the next 5-10 years for everyone concerned in monitoring scientific progress in a particular topic.
The main event of an ESF Forward Look is generally a conference involving about 50/60 people meeting over two or three days. While most participants will be scientists, it is very important to have presence of policy makers in such meetings. By this, it is meant those responsible in research agencies for developing their forward plans and providing resources. Also, representatives from bodies such as the European Commission and other European research institutions might be involved. Reports from preparatory groups and overview papers will be the basis for discussion. There can however be other methods of presenting the final results than a final conference, the decision depending on the scope of the Forward Look workshops and the desired mode of dissemination.
Both the preparatory process and the Forward Look output must “engage” the research community. This demands different processes of diffusion and dissemination. The use of web sites to stimulate a wider debate is essential. This process may occur in the preparatory stage in feeding in to the Forward Look meeting but must occur afterwards in disseminating the outputs and in promoting practical responses.
