ASIRPA real-time

Our society faces major challenges such as air, water and soil pollution; biodiversity loss; hunger and climate change, among others. Contributing to addressing these challenges implies transforming unsustainable systems into sustainable ones. This requires systemic changes in production and consumption modes, regulations, public policies, infrastructures, institutions, and social representations.

Today, many Research and Innovation (R&I) activities are funded with the aim to contribute to solving major societal challenges. These activities take various forms: research programmes and projects – from more fundamental research to participatory approaches – living labs, co-creation devices, or multi-actor partnerships.
If you are involved in an R&I approach that aims to build a better future and contribute to societal transformations, several questions arise:

To which desired future do you want to contribute? How could your research concretely contribute to this envisioned future? With which actors?

The answers to these questions define not only your ambitious goals, but also the pathway to achieve them.

The ASIRPA Real-Time (RT) approach accompanies researchers, in interaction with other actors, to guide R&I approaches towards a desired future and structure the pathways to achieve it. It is a set of learning and anticipation tools that helps to:

• Envision the societal transformations to which the R&I process could contribute.
• Identify the actors and networks that can contribute to these transformations.
• Identify possible obstacles on the pathway to impact and how to overcome them, as well as opportunities to accelerate the desired transformations.
• Explore the different pathways leading to societal transformations.

This reflection is iterative and evolves over time.

You will find more information on the ASIRPA Real-Time approach and on the importance of integrating reflection on impact here . To learn more about how to reflect on, and anticipate - impact reflection see this page.