Business and technology foresight study enhances decision-making in CSIR Roads and Transport Technology

CSIR Roads and Transport Technology (Transportek) has, over a number of years, developed a systemic approach to the management of parliamentary grant investment, as well as technology management in general. While quite successful, the approach has been lacking the input of a structured foresight study. As a result, a business and technology foresight study was initiated towards the end of 2001, to enhance CSIR Transportek's decision-making process for the investment of its parliamentary grant.

The study, completed in March 2004, was divided into the following phases:

• a desk study of international trends;

• an internal CSIR workshop to develop scenarios, identify future trends and challenges and provide a vision of the industry ten years from now, in terms of structure, funding mechanisms, capacity and technology needs;

• an external stakeholder workshop to test the validity of the outcomes of the internal workshop; and

• analysis, offering portfolio definition and testing of the robustness of the portfolio.

Five scenarios were developed, using the inputs from the desktop study as well as feedback from the internal and external workshops. Transportek's current offering portfolio was reviewed and shortcomings identified. The robustness of the portfolio was then tested against the set of scenarios, following which a number of recommendations were made.

The final report on the study records the outcome of the foresight process and will be used as an input into CSIR Transportek's strategic planning and investment planning processes, as well as in interactions with the business unit's Advisory Committees. As a compilation of the opinions of more than thirty transport experts and industry stakeholders, the report does not aim to identify specific technology development projects, but rather broad technological trends in key strategic focus areas. The report is seen as a 'living document', to be modified over the next two years, following input from within Transportek, the broader CSIR and selected external stakeholders, so that it will remain relevant to the strategic planning process of the business unit.

Download the report in pdf format:

Transportek Foresight Study: Final report March, 2004 [File size 245KB]

Chris Rust

Enquiries:
Chris Rust
Tel: +27 12 841-2927
Email: crust@csir.co.za