Type of projects

Collective scientific assessments (CSA)

A CSA is a synthesis of validated scientific knowledge in response to a complex question. This question is submitted to the Institute by public authorities in connection with the design or implementation of a public policy.
CSA projects are multi-disciplinary in nature, most often including life, earth and social sciences. An analysis of international academic literature is carried out by a group of scientific experts (researchers from French and foreign public bodies). CSAs aim at identifying research achievements, outstanding questions, uncertainties and unresolved knowledge controversies.

Advanced studies

 Advanced studies respond to more targeted questions from public autho¬rities than CSAs and aim to provide more directly operational answers. They mobilize additional data from grey literature (reports, technical journal articles, regulations, etc.), or from simulation models. Some advanced studies have a narrower scientific scope than CSAs and provide more directly operational answers.

Foresight

The purpose of foresight is to explore possible futures in order to inform present action and anticipate future challenges. They build visions of the future based on a representation of the factors that determine a given situation (sector of activity, territory, etc.), its relations with its environment, and their possible evolution. Foresight relies on the elaboration of different scenarios, based on methods of systematic investigation of evolutionary conjectures and on available scientific knowledge of the situation to be analyzed. Foresight generates trans-disciplinary knowledge by mobilizing scientific knowledge from various disciplines and expertise drawn from the experience of the stakeholders involved, to provide input for strategic thinking.

Type of projects