Technology foresight for wiring up the national innovation system - Experiences in Britain, Australia, and New Zealand

Since 1990, technology foresight has spread rapidly. We begin by analyzing the reasons for this before examining the specific political background to technology foresight in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. The article analyzes and compares the approaches to foresight in these countri es, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of each approach. We then prop ose a new rationale for technology foresight, which centers on its role in "wiring up" and thereby strengthening the national innovation system, befor e arriving at a number of conclusions. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Inc.