The purpose of the first visit was to have an inception meeting and a workshop for knowledge sharing. The inception meeting involved project counterparts, VISTI, and STEPI to discuss the project purpose, activities, and expected outputs.

The workshop, titled “National Future Strategy and Foresight,” was a public event for sharing knowledge on the national STI strategic foresight plans or activities of Vietnam and Korea. It was held on the April 18, 2019 (Thursday) at Army Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam. Various stakeholders including government officials from the relevant ministries and the directors of the research institutions were invited to the event to build consensus on the importance of strengthening the national strategic planning system and the directions for foresight capacity building. This event discovered policy demands for the main institutions and ministries.

 

The research team (STEPI) was responsible for holding the kick-off meeting and field visit to Vietnam. STEPI conducted interviews with the stakeholders from VISTI and other research institutions and decision makers including the Deputy Minister of Science and Technology of Vietnam.   
 
 

At the kick-off meeting with VISTI, the objectives and scope of the Project were discussed. Further specific action plans were discussed, and STEPI and VISTI agreed on the main items of the project programs and activities. Since the kick-off meeting was held after the workshop on national future strategy and technology foresight, the researchers of both counterparts shared insights on Korea’s S&T strategic planning and its implications on Vietnam’s future policy direction. The key points of the meeting can be summarized as follows:

• Agreed on the Project Action Plan
• Discussed VISTI and other institutions’ role in Vietnam’s STI system
• Shared Vietnam’s challenges in technology foresight and national STI strategies
• Shared Korean policy experiences in national STI strategies based on technology foresight