Finland Futures Research Centre identifies, analyses, and researches future emerging technologies, and the impact of technological transformations on humans, society and nature. We promote responsible innovation, and the responsible development and uptake of technology in an environmentally and socially sustainable manner.
Finland Futures Research Centre participates in national and international technology foresight research. We develop methods of identifying radical emerging technologies and tools for evaluating them. We research possible futures of novel innovations, as well as their potential future impacts within a variety of contexts. Recent FFRC's research projects have for example considered futures of and with privacy, Big Data, robotics, 3D-printing, and new circular economy opportunities. We also study new business models, regional development and smart specialisation connected to changing innovation and start-up ecosystems patterns.
Ongoing Research and Development Projects:
The goal for the DigiKyvykäs project is to help Finnish companies to develop their work productivity and employee well-being simultaneously. The project focuses on the abilities and capabilities of industrial SMEs to manage their technologies and related organizational, processes and policies. The aim is to increase understanding of how companies can better consider the needs and skills of employees when utilizing new technologies.
DigiKyvykäs project creates an evaluation model for assessing the level of organisational digital capability of an SME. To complement the assessment model, the project creates also a road map tool targeted at the company's structures, processes and practices, which will help the company identify development needs and target development measures to them. This helps the companies to develop their capabilities to take full advantage of new technologies and the opportunities brought by digitalisation without compromising well-being at work and productivity. DigiKyvykäs project also creates training material to support the development of companies.
Special attention is paid to the fields of industry, production and logistics. The aim is for a total of 75 companies to participate in the project. The project is carried out by the University of Oulu (co-ordinator), University of Tampere, University of Turku, Turku University of Applied Sciences, Business Tampere Ltd, City of Vantaa, Yritysalo Oy and Prizztech Oy.
Project is funded by European Structural and Investment Funds - European Social Fund (ESF) during 1.3.2024-28.2.2027.
Further information: Jari Kaivo-oja, FFRC
https://www.oulu.fi/en/projects/digicompetent
As a Coordination and Support Action funded by the EU, project “Eye of Europe” aims to enhance the integration of foresight practices into Research and Innovation (R&I) policy making across Europe. Ultimately, the project envisions a more cohesive and influential R&I foresight community that contributes significantly, as a collective intelligence, to shaping and guiding policy decisions.
To this end, Eye of Europe builds on existing initiatives and experiences to foster knowledge-sharing between foresight practitioners and policy makers, attract domain experts in foresight endeavours, and engage a broader audience in futures thinking.
The project runs between November 2023 - October 2026.
Partners
- Unitatea Executiva pentru Finantarea Invatamantului Superior a Cercetarii Dezvoltarii si Inovarii (UEFISCDI)
- Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH (AIT)
- University of Turku (UTU)
- VDI/VDE Innovation + Technik GmbH (VDI/VDE IT)
- German Aerospace Center (DLR)
- Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT)
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR)
- Technologicke Centrum Praha ZSPO (TC Praha)
- Agentia Nationala pentru Cercetare si Dezvoltare (ANCD)
- Urad Vlady Slovenskej Republiky (UV SR)
- Asociatia Institutul de Prospectiva (PROSPECTIVA)
- Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (INRAE)
- S. Mantzanakis Kai Sia O.E (Helenos)
- Insight Foresight Institute SL (IFI)
- Arctik SRL (ARCTIK)
- Kozgazdasag-es Regionalis Tudomanyi Kutatokozpont (CERS)
Further information: Mikkel Knudsen, FFRC
The FLIARA project aims to create a European wide rural innovation ecosystem, which supports women-led innovative practices in farming and rural areas.
Project is carried out during 1.1.2023-31.12.2025.
Website: https://fliara.eu/
Further information: Tuomas Kuhmonen, FFRC
LifeFactFuture project combines world class-excellence of Finnish life science companies, technology companies and academic researchers. The goal of the project collaboration is to speed up the introduction of digital solutions and more efficient utilization of data and to make Finland the most attractive place in the world for investments in data-driven life science manufacturing.
The LifeFactFuture consortium includes the University of Turku, the University of Helsinki, and some of Finland's leading life science manufacturers, data and technology companies. In addition, the Finnish Medicines Agency, Fimea, is involved in the project to ensure compliance between technological development and pharmaceutical legislation.
Finland Futures Research Centre leads the consortium with a multidisciplinary research group from the University of Turku that includes experts in computer science, information technology, production economics, mechanical engineering, and technology and strategic foresight. The project is coordinated by Turku School of Economics, where it involves research groups such as the Laboratory of Business Disruption and the Futures Knowledge Distillery at Finland Futures Research Centre.
Project is funded by Business Finland and companies and universities involved. It is carried out during 1.1.2024-30.6.2026.
Further information: Toni Ahlqvist & Keijo Koskinen, FFRC
GYROSCOPE project investigates opportunities provided by and risks associated with smart digital solutions in the context of green transition of the maritime sector. Applying stakeholder-participatory processes and modern risk analytics, and considering alternative implementation pathways, the project produces a multidimensional picture of the sustainable digital transition to low-carbon maritime logistics.
The project is carried out in co-operation between Finland Futures Research Centre in University of Turku (coordinator), Kotka Maritime Research Association, Department of Mechanical Engineering in Aalto University & Ecosystems and Environment Research Programme and Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science in University of Helsinki.
This project has received funding from the European Union – NextGenerationEU instrument and is funded by the Academy of Finland under grant number 353056.
Further information: Toni Ahlqvist and Mikkel Stein Knudsen
Project website: gyroscope-project.fi
A two-year ECOCRIN project (2023–2025), funded by Business Finland, has started at the Turku School of Business, combining the needs and the development tools of the creative industries into new ways of making innovation and cultural policy. ECOCRIN works with private, public and third sector actors at local, regional and national level.
The project's cooperation network includes Kings' College London, Latvian Academy of Culture, Stockholm School of Economics in Riga, University of Coimbra, Utrecht University and, from Finland, Arts Promotion Centre Finland, City of Pori, Culture Campus Turku, Creative Finland, Cupore, Kuhmo Arts Centre (Kuhmotalo), the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment and Tapahtumateollisuus.
At the University of Turku, the project is led by Professor Jarna Heinonen (Entrepreneurship) and consists of three teams. Her team includes Adjunct Professor, Senior Research Fellow Pekka Stenholm, Senior Research Fellow Kaisa Hytönen and Senior Research Fellow Tommi Pukkinen. The team at the Pori Campus consists of Adjunct Professor, Senior Research Fellow Arja Lemmetyinen.
In addition to theoretical expertise, the Finland Futures Research Centre will bring to the project the participatory methods of the Heritage Futures Workshops and the Futures Literacy Laboratory, which are based on co-creation and support futures thinking. The team is led by Adjunct Professor and University Lecturer Katriina Siivonen. She is joined by Adjunct Professor and Senior Research Fellow Pauliina Latvala-Harvilahti and Project Researcher Amos Taylor.
Project website: https://sites.utu.fi/ecocrin/
More information: Pauliina Latvala-Harvilahti, Finland Futures Research Centre
The SusFlow project applies a multidisciplinary approach for shared solutions within a network of enterprises representing a multitude of competence areas with an LCA-driven focus. The project promotes sustainability assessments based on real data, a seamless flow of information, and a possibility to discover innovations to benefit the incorporation of sustainability as a practice within the shipyard ecosystem.
The aforementioned assessments combined with our company partners’ expertise in value chain sustainability measurement and data generation increase overall sustainability. With strategic collaboration and good flow of information this will improve innovation stimulation, generation, and detection within the shipyard supplier network. The models by which these processes can be implemented are investigated in the wider network and utilized in communicating network sustainability to various interest groups.
The approach creates a multitude of business potential varying from clear savings, enhanced efficiency and innovation potential, social values, environmental values, and raw marketing value. The approach will have an effect and create demand on customer standards and purchasing behavior through a market shaping ideology, thus increasing sustainability transparency requirements in the market. At first the main beneficiaries are the shipyard, shipbuilding network, and shipping companies, internally. The solutions can be scaled, formalized, and incorporated to give the Finnish marine industry a competitive advantage in the cruise ship market.
This SusFlow project is a collaborative consortium project led by research organizations, University of Turku and VTT, including multiple parallel projects from industry stakeholders throughout the value chain. The project is carried our during 1 January 2023 – 28 February 2025 and is funded by Business Finland.
Further information: Leena Jokinen & Katariina Heikkilä.
