Strategy for scientific research and development is generally classified into two modes. That is, “seeds-push research” is drawing a pathway from a specific scientific discipline and/or based on technological assets toward a solution for social issues or concerns, while “issue-driven research” identifying scientific areas which are to be mobilized in a R&D program on a focal social issue. Such an issue is to be found and identified through profound observation and analysis of human society and the environment.
We, CRDS at JST, are currently trying to develop a logical methodology for identifying R&D themes that are most appropriate for societal satisfaction. In our effort, we try to induce an encounter between societal issues and R&D areas through multiple steps of looking at the “facts,” “trends” and “vision” of our society, all of which are connected by “design.” At the first step, scientific R&D areas are reviewed and examined with a bird's eye view by professionals to identify important and/or emerging research topics, while visionary individuals try to describe social wishes and sketch a desired future society by a scenario planning method. Then, a variety of necessary functional requests which are essential to materialize such a future society are extracted at successive workshops, and finally this will lead to a set of research topics that are deemed to contribute substantially to bring true social wishes. At the Symposium, this entire process of search and retrieval of R&D themes for an “encounter” with social wishes will be presented and discussed with the latest results obtained.