Setting the scene for discussing innovation policy directions: Foresight as a practice of synchronizing

Researchers and policy analysts often highlight the role of anticipatory practices in technology development and innovation governance. In this study, we extend this argument by examining foresight practices within the context of initiating deliberations concerning the directionality of innovation policy. Drawing on practice theories and anticipatory practice research, we develop a conceptual approach to scrutinize foresight. The approach is applied to study the case of a large policy-oriented foresight scheme, Foresight on Demand, which supported the operationalization of Horizon Europe, the Ninth European Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development. This case study provides insight into the workings of anticipatory practices during the nascent stages of innovation policy processes, when problems, solutions and stakeholders' interests have yet to be fully defined. The study describes how foresight mobilizes actors at the intersection between innovation, policy and society through engaging them with anticipatory practices. We conclude that foresight hereby synchronizes disparate bodies of knowledge, collective expectations and temporal demands, thus ‘setting-the-scene’ for arenas in which actors can, in spite of functional differentiation, get together and discuss innovation policy directions. The research findings outline possible implications for function, utilization and evaluation of foresight. • We examine how foresight initiates deliberations concerning the directionality of innovation policy. • The development of an anticipatory practice approach allows to study foresight in practice. • The case study shows how foresight can contribute to shaping the policy arena. • The practice of foresight can synchronize knowledge, expectations and temporal demands. • The conclusion suggests implications for using and evaluating foresight.