Climate change, wars, artificial intelligence, mobility – in view of these global challenges, it is important to develop cross-border future scenarios. This gives political decision-makers the opportunity to develop sustainable and long-term programmes and measures to make themselves more resilient and competitive. Our strategic foresight services create a valid basis for precisely this.

Our methods: co-creative, practical and stakeholder-oriented

Finding answers to questions about the future requires the expertise and creativity of numerous experts. We contribute our methodological expertise, our regional expertise and the specialist knowledge of the entire DLR Projektträger to strategic foresight processes. With more than 400 partners in around 130 countries, we have long-standing contacts that enable us to involve the best minds worldwide in the development of future scenarios.

Successful practical examples of strategic foresight by the DLR Projektträger

Our projects range from the strategic strengthening of the Ukrainian research and innovation system to scenarios for possible lunar colonisation.

On behalf of the European Commission, we are supporting the development of a resilient research and innovation system in Ukraine with the LUKE project. In Policy Answers, we bring strategic foresight methods to the Western Balkan states – through training courses, workshops and concrete recommendations for action. We have developed scenarios for the future of quantum computing (SINAVI) for the BMWE. And together with the Federal Foreign Office, we are thinking about Europe's role in tomorrow's world as part of Futures Literacy Labs.

Read more about selected examples in which the DLR Projektträger successfully applies strategic foresight tools: 

LUKE

Client: European Commission 
"Linking Ukraine to the European Research Area" (LUKE) is a multilateral project aimed at strengthening the Ukrainian research and innovation system. It brings together 26 funding and research organisations from Europe and Ukraine, which are jointly developing and implementing a transnational call for R&I projects with Ukrainian participation. The thematic priorities are developed on the basis of Delphi surveys, citizen visioning workshops and strategic foresight. At the same time, the "Knowledge Hub" is creating a platform for targeted competence building, for example in the divisions of research management, technology transfer, innovation policy and science communication. In addition, LUKE contributes to the strategic design of EU-Ukraine cooperation in the field of research and innovation. The project will conclude with a high-level conference to discuss future scenarios for the Ukrainian R&I system in the European context.

Strategic foresight for Europe's social transformation

Client: HERA Network (Humanities in the European Research Area)

The DLR Projektträger is supporting the establishment of the new EU Partnership for Social Transformations and Resilience, which is scheduled to launch in 2027. The core task of the DLR Projektträger is to develop a Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) for the partnership by 2033 to guide its work. It is crucial that the agenda not only reflects current needs, but also anticipates future developments. It must be flexible enough to adapt to new challenges, while providing guidance on four very different topics: the modernisation of social protection systems, the future of work, education and skills for the twin transition, and the just transition to climate neutrality.

We at DLR Projektträger are developing the agenda on the basis of four complete foresight cycles – each involving visioning, trend analyses and scenarios. Each cycle combines different methods: desk research, a large-scale online survey, interactive trend workshops and qualitative interviews with stakeholders from science, politics, business and society across Europe. This creates a broad-based, co-creative process that incorporates the perspectives of key players at an early stage. Once all four cycles have been completed, the best-case scenarios developed are used to derive concrete action steps in a backcasting process. This approach forms the foundation of the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda.

The result is a long-term sustainable agenda that provides guidance for both research and policy. It involves key players across Europe, resulting in a broad-based document with a high degree of legitimacy. At the same time, it strengthens the international visibility of the partnership and serves as a robust basis for effective strategies in times of profound transformation.

Strategic Foresight in the Western Balkans: Recovery on the Horizon

Client: European Commission

On behalf of the European Commission, we examined how research and innovation policy in the Western Balkan countries can be made future-oriented by 2035. In view of political uncertainties, pressure to transform due to the green and digital transition, and ongoing brain drain, the central task was to outline possible future paths for R&I policy until 2035 and to identify options for long-term investment.

In a co-creative process involving more than 700 experts from academia, politics, civil society, the private sector and international organisations, three plausible scenarios for the region's R&I policy in 2035 were developed. These were based on trend analyses, interviews, two large online surveys and nine multinational and six national workshops. In addition, initial roadmaps were developed for each country, outlining concrete goals and measures for the targeted further development of research and innovation.
    
The project shows how strategic foresight can help to reveal different paths to the future and make political decisions more robust. The scenarios and roadmaps provide inspiration for long-term reforms. They strengthen regional cooperation and give both governments and the EU concrete starting points for investment in research and innovation. The focus is on sustainably improving competitiveness and quality of life in the Western Balkan countries. Learn more.

Quantum computing on the rise: insights from strategic foresight to 2032

Client: BMWE
The DLR Projektträger used strategic foresight methods for the foresight study commissioned by the BMWE to better understand progress and challenges in the field of quantum computing. The SINAVI model (Strategic Impact Navigation Assessment Model) developed by the DLR Projektträger was used. The methods used included trend analyses, expert interviews and multi-stage Delphi surveys. Based on these, the DLR Project Management Agency developed a realistic scenario for the year 2032 in order to provide recommendations for action for the future promotion of quantum computing in Germany using the backcasting method. The findings were combined with information from the accompanying performance review of the funding measure, which was also carried out by the DLR Projektträger. The result: a holistic picture of the successes and possible further developments of the funding.

Twinning Light Project: Strengthening the ecosystem for science and research in Albania

Client: European Commission 
As part of the Twinning Light project (2023–2024), the role of the Albanian Agency for Scientific Research and Innovation (NASRI) was strategically redefined. Together with NASRI staff and key stakeholders, a roadmap was developed that sets out concrete measures and milestones for the agency's reorientation. A key element was a roadmapping process in which project experts, NASRI staff and relevant stakeholders from politics, business and science jointly developed concrete measures and milestones. The roadmap developed in this way not only outlines the next steps for the reorientation, but also serves as a practical foresight tool for the agency: it strengthens NASRI's strategic capacity to act, facilitates the involvement of relevant partners and makes the research and innovation system as a whole more future-proof.