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| UNIDO Technology Roadmap - Overall Implementation |
The following examples demonstrate how most countries have introduced TR and TF into their further development in the S&T as well as industrial development. Both programmes in most industrialised countries provide examples of different approaches.
The main objective of TF in these countries is to increase national competitiveness through assessing future science and technological developments. Others, such as Norway, UK, New Zealand and Germany put some emphasis on social issues. Some countries, such as Italy, Spain have a tendency to shift emphasis from S&T towards industrial development.
TR programme has been applied in the US, Australia, Netherlands and Canada for a specific purpose on assisting industry to foresee future market demands and to determine the key technological production and processing required to meet the needs. Each country has various priority areas and different approaches for implementing.
It is clear that the government and its relevant bodies have a key role in formulating the exercises and implementing the results. This is due to the fact that foresight and roadmap provide an opportunity for governments to adopt a catalytic role in working with industry to develop new competitive strengths. Almost all the countries started their exercises by establishing not only a steering committee to act as the supra-committee task force, but also experts committees or technical committees to carry out the exercise. Mixed methodologies have become the backbone of TF and roadmap in many countries since they are mutually supportive when integrated together. Among all methodologies, the Delphi, Scenarios, Workshop, SWOT analysis and Critical Technology are the most frequently used. In sum, the designing of the exercise framework differs, depending on socio-economic background, the area of study and the characteristics and objectives of the particular exercise involved.
Although the designed processes of the examined countries show diversity, these can also be useful as basis for guidelines for most developing countries. There are similar fundamental issues that have to be addressed; those industrialized countries, which have embarked on the foresight and roadmapping exercises always have their specific objectives and needs to be concerned. On the other hand, that selective criteria will not only be based on the particular circumstance of the country concerned, but also on a full understanding of technology foresight and technology roadmap. Both TF and TR can be critical factors in encouraging industrial development in different levels.
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