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Technological foresight as support for the planning of research and development centers: the case of EI-UNAM

Nadia Castillo-Camarena (Programa de Posgrado de la Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México)
Eugenio López-Ortega (Instituto de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México)

Foresight

ISSN: 1463-6689

Article publication date: 29 March 2021

Issue publication date: 13 July 2021

247

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to present a method to carry out technological foresight exercises in university technological research and development centers (TRDCs). The results support the organizational planning process.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors review the literature on the frameworks of foresight. The authors propose the use of quantitative (bibliometrics) and qualitative (expert meeting, Delphi) techniques. The authors apply this method to each research topic of interest of the TRDCs.

Findings

The application of the method to a research topic allows us to analyze the relevant knowledge areas for the development of that topic and its global trend. For each area, the authors identify the specific lines of research with the greatest growth and relevance. Considering these lines, the authors make a diagnosis of the TRDC situation regarding how to provide knowledge to decision-makers.

Research limitations/implications

The paper reviews the results of the application in the Engineering Institute of the National Autonomous University of Mexico and in the research topic “Seismic risks in civil engineering.” It is necessary to adjust the application of the method in other TRDCs to the conditions of the organization and to the development achieved by the TRDCs in the analyzed research topic.

Originality/value

There is no detailed literature on technological foresight exercises in university TRDCs that support the planning process of the organization. The method represents a proposal to establish priority research topics and specific research lines in research institutes, particularly universities. The authors present the application in a university TRDCs in Mexico.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Eric Ulises García Cano Castillo

Citation

Castillo-Camarena, N. and López-Ortega, E. (2021), "Technological foresight as support for the planning of research and development centers: the case of EI-UNAM", Foresight, Vol. 23 No. 4, pp. 457-476. https://doi.org/10.1108/FS-09-2020-0100

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited

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