The FGCSIC Workshops are a new initiative with which the foundation aims to promote and publicise activities and topics in which the Fundación General CSIC is interested, through the organisation of training workshops and debates. Four high-level meetings are planned for the current year, aimed at professionals and stakeholders in technology watch and competitive intelligence, strategic planning applied to R&D, scientific forecasting and science and technology output metrics.
The first of these workshops will be held on 25 May, at the headquarters of CaixaForum Madrid, and will discuss the subject of technology watch and competitive intelligence. In today’s knowledge society the challenge is no longer to simply «capture information» but to «obtain that information which is significant» for our activity, as redundant research can mean billions of euros are wasted. Technology watch can help eliminate unnecessary duplication by describing the state of play in science and technology, from which new scenarios can then be developed.
Designed with a one-day seminar format, the FGCSIC Workshop on technology watch and competitive intelligence is subdivided into four mini workshops, each with three parts. Thus, the background and main lines of each subject will first be set out in a short presentation by a specialist on the subject. Then, participants will tackle a case study. And finally, there will be a space for discussion, sharing experiences, and conclusions.
The first workshop session, led by Eliana Benjumea Azorín, director of Infoline and an expert on competitive intelligence at Acciona, will discuss «how to set up a competitive intelligence unit.» Next, in the second workshop session, Mario Esteban, director of innovation strategy at Acciona, will talk about «evaluating the business interest of an R&D/innovation project.» During the third workshop, Clara Parapar, Projects Manager at the FGCSIC Analysis Unit, will talk about «Scientific and Technical Documentation: how to obtain extra value.» Finally, Ramón Maspons, director of the projects unit at BioCat, will describe «a success story: Competitive intelligence in the biomedical sector.»
Technology watch and competitive intelligence have traditionally been applied in technical areas. At the Fundación General CSIC, we aim to transfer this approach to the scientific and social field, as we believe these tools can be of considerable use in sectors such as services. Thus, the first workshop will consider practical cases inspired in areas that have not traditionally used these methodologies, such as the ageing society, a topic of currently of particular interest.
