Moving the SfTI Digital Marae session from mapping out the key dimensions and research activities required for the Digital Marae, to creating a clear framework by which these activities could be sequenced in time, and have the 'best team' assigned to them.
Participants in the SfTi Intelligent Oceans Session mapping out possible areas of focus.
We've been engaged in running a series of National Science Challenge workshops, to bring industry and researchers together to determine the ten year stretch science research required in each challenge area.
In 2017 we were involved in developing the approach for and facilitating three separate workshops:
- A full day Digital Marae workshop for the Science for Technological Innovation Challenge (SfTI);
- A full day Intelligent Oceans session, again for the SfTI Challenge, and;
- A full day 3D & 4D Printing of Bio-Based Polymers session.
Each of these sessions was aimed at helping participants map out the future of the domain at a national and International level, understand key drivers and trends, map out existing research activities at a national level and determine key areas requiring further research.
The sessions have all been challenging. There is a constant tension between the ten year strategic vision of the National Science Challenge, the desire for academic researchers see their pet projects or existing research activities continue to be funded, and the much shorter-term, innovation-focused needs of industry.
Developing strong, clear frameworks to guide the workshop process helps participants successfully navigate through these tensions to shape up clearly defined research priorities and focus areas.