Why is the FORECO project timely for Tamlink right now?
FORECO is a multidisciplinary co-innovation project focusing on strategic foresight practices in ecosystems and the AI-assisted tools that support them. The project investigates how strategic foresight, carried out jointly by actors across an ecosystem, should be practised to create real value for the entire ecosystem and its individual companies.
The role of ecosystems in RDI collaboration between research and industry has grown recently and appears set to become even more significant. At the same time, individual companies are utilizing strategic foresight internally and selecting their development areas accordingly. However, cutting-edge research at low TRL (Technology Readiness Level) stages is typically conducted within various consortium projects and, increasingly, within ecosystems. The next natural step, therefore, is to integrate strategic foresight into ecosystem operations.
Tamlink’s strength lies in its extensive and diverse experience — spanning various industries, activity types, and stages of the RDI-to-product value chain — combined with the trust it has earned from clients regarding the handling of confidential information. Through FORECO, expertise in strategic foresight is integrated into this foundation, embedding it into the day-to-day operations of ecosystems and consortium projects while generating new value for Tamlink’s clients.
Strategic foresight relies heavily on data. Recent advancements in artificial intelligence offer the opportunity to explore how AI can be utilized to process and analyze the vast datasets involved in foresight activities. Tamlink’s project also focuses on the potential of AI in coordinating and facilitating multi-organizational collaboration — a context that raises many of the same issues regarding security, data ownership, and ethics.
What challenges are we working to solve
The ecosystems coordinated by Tamlink vary in nature, differing in terms of dynamics and membership structure, among other aspects. In this context, the objectives include:
· Understanding how the distinct characteristics of an ecosystem influence operational models for ecosystem-level strategic foresight
· Understanding the potential and limitations of utilizing artificial intelligence in strategic foresight
· Identifying requirements for the safe use of AI in multilateral collaboration and across varying levels of confidentiality
What do we expect from collaboration within the research consortium?
”We expect the FORECO project consortium to provide research data as well as expertise in AI, Business Intelligence (BI), and strategic foresight. We also aim to benchmark the operational practices of the consortium’s ecosystems and their coordination against one another.”, says Veli-Mikko Mäkelä, Development Manager of Tamlink.
The goal is to learn from each other while making our own ecosystems available as subjects for the research. Mutual dialogue is essential.
”We aim to identify — in collaboration with public research partners — the effective components of the concepts as well as areas requiring further development. Open, collaborative innovation is vital, and this process has already got off to a great start in the project’s various workshops.” enlightens Juha-Pekka Anttila, Senior Project Manager from Tamlink.
Tamlink brings to the project extensive and diverse experience in coordinating and facilitating ecosystems and consortium projects across various industries and types of operations, covering the entire spectrum from RDI to product commercialization. The goal is to generate insights for the joint project through a survey of Tamlink’s customer ecosystems and the testing of concepts.
Longer-term impact of the FORECO research
Through this project, Tamlink aims to significantly increase the customer value of its services while strengthening and expanding its position as a coordinator of ecosystems and joint projects. At the same time, the project fosters conditions for growth and exports in Finnish society — particularly through network effects — by enabling Tamlink’s ecosystem clients to leverage the results of ecosystem-level strategic foresight in their own operations.
FORECO project website: https://foreco-project.fi
FORECO LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/foreco-project/
FORECO is a multidisciplinary project, funded by Business Finland, that studies joint, strategic foresight in ecosystems supported by artificial intelligence. The project is an excellent opportunity to further develop Tamlink's long-standing ecosystem expertise. The consortium includes ABB, Kempower, Meyer Turku, FIBRES Online and Headai as company representatives, as well as the research institutes LUT University, University of Turku - University of Turku and VTT.
Read this article in Finnish here: https://www.tamlink.fi/post/miksi-foreco-projekti-on-ajankohtainen-tamlinkille-juuri-nyt
