The aim of the iKnow project is to elucidate and examine events and developments potentially shaping or shaking the future of science, technology and innovation (STI) in the European Research Area (ERA) and the world. In so doing, the project pursues the following objectives: to develop and pilot conceptual and methodological frameworks to identify, classify, cluster and analyse wild cards and weak signals (WI-WE) to assess WI-WE implications for, and expected impact on, key dimensions of the ERA Vision, such as Researchers, Research infrastructures, Research institutions and universities, Knowledge sharing, Joint Programming and International S&T cooperation. iKnow will undertake the following activities: Literature review and desk ... full article

iKNOW aims to advance knowledge and tools related to events and trends potentially shaping – and shaking - the future of science, technology and innovation (STI). The project is funded by the European Commission Directorate  General  for Research, as part of its Blue Sky initiatives,  which are designed  to create more proactive  European research policy that will be capable of anticipating emerging issues, wild cards and weak signals (WI-WE). iKNOW intends  to become a cornerstone for foresight and futures studies in Europe – advancing knowledge, tools and capacities for the analysis and use of WI-WE approaches. To do so, the project has built a consortium of eight partners; six have high-level expertise in foresight, technology... full article

Two days after the tsunami hit the northern tip of Sumatra on Boxing Day 2004, Yayasan AirPutih (airputih.or.id) began working quietly, far from publicity, to reconstruct the communication backbone destroyed by the disaster. Using VHF/UHF radio, V-Sat and wireless technology, AirPutih restored communication in Aceh, making its first Internet broadcast on 30 December 2004. This was in spite of the radio silence policy imposed by the local military and government. Yayasan AirPutih also provided the first free satellite telephone and wireless Internet connection in Banda Aceh for humanitarian relief organisations working in the area and continued to do so until it ran out of money. In addition, Yayasan AirPutih played a vital role in establishing the first media centre (acehmediacenter.or.id ... full article

(This is an English excerpt of my keynote speech when addressing the International Conference for Corporate Accountability in Jakarta a while ago. The Indonesian version was published as a headline article of a national newspaper) Perspective is about bringing together things that seem to have no relation to each other so that they could be more easily understood in a context. It sounds simple. But it helps scrutinising the relationship between noble idea of good governance and hullabaloo of corporate responsibility. Why these two? Firstly, because discourse about good governance today cannot but touch upon the issue of corporate governance. And secondly, because corporate responsibility has become the issue of corporate governance. It has been admitted that corporations are pla... full article