Open inception workshop “Dos and Don’ts of Big Data for Foresight“ took place at Turku, Finland on 28 February, 2019. Workshop was organised by University of Turku (UT) (Finland) and Kazimieras Simonavičius University (KSU) (Lithuania) within the framework of KSU R&D project “Platforms of Big Data Foresight (PLATBIDAFO)”.

Participants from KSU, UT, other higher education institutions, public sector and industry discussed new models of Big Data and Future Foresight methodologies and their social and business applications. Speakers introduced innovative tools for identification and analysis of large-scale social issues, new mechanisms for business decision support and new approaches to strategic planning for decision-makers. Topics discussed at workshop included strategic positioning in Big Data utilisation, using world-class data science resources to create smart and wise Turku city, Big Data potential for integrated territorial policy development in the European growth corridors, new possibilities in crowdsourcing Delphi method in Future Foresight, using systematic Foresight tools (the case of Futures Platform).

The project “Platforms of Big Data Foresight (PLATBIDAFO)” is implemented by Big Data Excellence Centre at Kazimieras Simonavičius University and is financed by the Research Council of Lithuania. The project aims to create tools and methodologies, which will enable companies and organisations to tackle social problems by helping them to identify social exclusion, demographic change, regional development and other problems as well as spotting and predicting future trends.