RISC is monitoring social change in most developed countries in the world to service multi-national marketing operators and institutions. A yearly survey on 2.500 people by country provides a regular evaluation of the social and consumer trends that our sociologists have identified or forecasted.
The purpose of this paper is to present RISC's experience in applying its specific socio-cultural expertise in the monitoring of social change to the former communist societies. The first part presents the ACE East program, its developments, and its purposes, as well as its methodological background. It also introduces briefly some basic concepts (socio-cultural trend, socio-cultural map, and the Euroscan) which will illustrate the analysis developed in the second part. The second part, entitled "Anticipating Change in East Europe" deals with the concept of "Eastern Europe", analyzing its relevance from a socio-cultural perspective. A two-steps approach is proposed: first, to define the "Eastern Europe" when compared with a West European model. Based on surveys in 9 East European countries, RISC's measurements show some key dimensions characteristic for the studied area. The second part of this paper presents both, proximities and divergencies in socio-cultural dynamics in both areas. Eastern and Western Europe. In its last part, the article questions the relevance of the concept of "Eastern Europe" and its homogeneity from an "insider" point of view. Three examples (European Russia, Baltic States, Eastern Germany) illustrates this part.
With my European colleagues in RISC, we conducted in 1981-1983 the initial cycle of an ongoing program called "Anticipating Change in Europe" (ACE). In this program, we have compared all the information available to us on change in society and among consumers in Europe. We have drawn certain conclusions from this. One particularly clearcut conclusion is that we are on the brink of a tremendous surge of innovations, that there is a powerful call for innovation, but that innovations are finding it difficult to break through.
With my European colleagues in RISC, we conducted in 1981-1983 the initial cycle of an ongoing program called "Anticipating Change in Europe" (ACE). In this program, we have compared all the information available to us on change in society and among consumers in Europe. We have drawn certain conclusions from this. One particularly clearcut conclusion is that we are on the brink of a tremendous surge of innovations, that there is a powerful call for innovation, but that innovations are finding it difficult to break through.
I want to dwell here, focusing on the case of France and drawing upon observational data accumulated by the 3 SC system (COFREMCA System for Monitoring Socio-Cultural Change). I shall begin by attempting to describe, in very broad terms, recent socio-cultural trends in France, and to give some idea of the way these trends affect relations between the French and their government and politics. In the second part, I shall briefly outline some of the challenges to government that have been identified by a number of strategic analysis units.