Developing ‘Vision 2020’ oriented businesses using advanced
foresighting tools and processes
Background
Over the period March 2006 to January 2007, five sector
foresight projects were completed in Trinidad and Tobago. One key objective
was to use the foresighting process as a tool to identify opportunities in
the Biotechnology, Tourism, Food & Beverage, Creative, and Niche
Manufacturing sectors that had long-term growth potential in global niche
markets and for which Trinidad and Tobago had the necessary resources.
Another key objective was to engage stakeholders from both the public and
private sectors to mutually develop the cases that supported those
investment opportunities.
It was the first time such a project was undertaken in
the country. The sector participants and researchers gained experience in
using foresight tools and processes and a movement of thinking from
traditional business models to leading-edge models was achieved.
Participants who come from both the public and private sector are now part
of a networking group, the Trinidad and Tobago Foresight and Innovation
Network (www.ttfi.net),
which enables them to share their common passion about foresighting and for
Trinidad and Tobago being able to achieve the goals associated with Vision
2020.
As a result of the project, 16 well-defined sector Best
Bets were completed. They include a detailed description of the offer, the
target markets, the foresight context, the resources available locally, the
areas that need to be addressed to optimise the outcome, key players in the
sector, the value chain component, an implementation roadmap and a 10-year
financial scenario. Some of these Best Bets are in the process of being
commercialized.
Advanced Foresighting Phase
Foresighting is a continuous process and needs to be
taken to more advanced levels once people have developed skills in the basic
processes. The next phase of work sought to build on the work completed in
the initial Best Bet projects and to examine more closely opportunities that
will be important for achieving the Vision 2020 goals and are likely to
commence business 5 – 10 years from now (Horizon 3).
Unless such new businesses are developed, it will be
difficult for the country to progress towards the Vision 2020 goals that
have been set because global markets and the associated opportunities are
undergoing change at an unprecedented rate. Value chains are also changing
rapidly with new models opening up new opportunities for small countries to
participate more effectively in the global economy.
Using the Biotechnology and Fashion sectors, the advanced
foresight study aimed to develop a comprehensive Horizon 3 view for these
sectors and to develop detailed investment cases for opportunities that
would lead to the development of leading-edge businesses that could commence
trading 5-10 years from now. The study, which was undertaken over the past
14 months, engaged a number of key innovative public sector and private
sector people with a strong interest in these two sectors. Their engagement
was realised through a series of facilitated processes and tools developed
by NEXT.
The study proceeded in three phases as follows:
Phase 1 – The identification of key relevant trends, discontinuities
and uncertainties, and the development of big picture global and global
sector scenarios at a ‘Foresight Breakthrough Workshop’.
Phase 2 – The development of country sector
scenarios to establish a potential future risk framework using half-day
workshops over several months, and the ‘fleshing out’ of the ideas developed
in the workshops.
Phase 3 – The development of detailed Horizon 3
business opportunities (Best Bet Opportunity Cases) for each sector.
Report
Fashion Advanced
Sector Foresighting Project  (5.5 Mb)
To download the report in PDF format right click on the
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Written: August 2008 |
