Corporate Foresight: The Strategy of Looking to The Future in a Research Organization

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the practice of foresight at a public research organization in Brazil. Theoretical framework – It was used the concept of foresight to research institutes of a public nature, from the perspective of corporate foresight. Design/methodology/approach – A case study was carried out at the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA). The type of case study adopted was the single case study, with an emphasis on in-depth understanding of the investigated case. The phenomenon studied was the accumulated experiences and foresight practices within a research organization. Findings – EMBRAPA has a formal structure and processes related to foresight, indicating the importance that the company places in foresight exercises to support decision making. To this end, it has been employing several foresight exercises to assist strategic planning, research agenda definitions and identification of emerging and future technologies. Originality/value – According to the literature, it was possible to understand that public research organizations can also use foresight to establish strategic research priorities to answer national and international trends in S&T (Science and Technology) well as to the development and societal needs.