Fondation internet nouvelle génération

The Fondation internet nouvelle génération (Fing) was a French non-profit association founded in 2000 by Daniel Kaplan, Jacques-François Marchandise and Jean-Michel Cornu. Operating as a "think & do tank," it placed practices and uses at the heart of foresight and strategy for organisations, working on the societal changes linked to digital transformations. Its mission revolved around four broad goals: mobilising around emerging technologies, taking part in new ethical and societal debates, fostering the emergence of innovative ideas and projects, and encouraging the appropriation of innovation and partnerships. Fing ran "programmes d'action innovante" — 18- to 24-month thematic programmes that brought together companies, public actors, the third sector, researchers and creatives to explore the links between technology and society. Notable programmes included Villes 2.0 (mobility and ICT uses in the city), Identités actives (digital identity), Plus longue la vie (digital technology in an ageing society), and the incubation of La 27e Région, the first public innovation lab for French regions. It also produced foresight and monitoring publications, notably Internet Actu, a watch site born from a newsletter, and Prospectic, covering fast-moving science and technology fields. Fing was particularly fragile after the pandemic period. On 21 April 2022 its board decided to place the association in cessation of activity with the Tribunal Judiciaire de Paris, and on 27 April 2022 it announced its dissolution. Part of its activities was taken over by OpenDataFrance. During the transition, the association sought to transmit the important heritage built over the years to the collectives it had accompanied.

The Fondation Internet Nouvelle Génération (Fing) was created in 2000 by Daniel Kaplan, Jacques-François Marchandise and Jean-Michel Cornu as a French association under the law of 1901. It was originally conceived as "a collective R&D project, with a limited lifespan of 5 years, centred on the services, applications and uses of the 'new generation' Internet." Over time it evolved into a permanent think & do tank on the digital transformations of society, building an important corpus of intellectual, foresight and experimental work and enabling the birth and development of numerous innovation, research and collective or public action projects. Its mission was structured around four categories of objectives: mobilising around upcoming technologies; taking part in new ethical and societal debates; fostering the emergence of innovative ideas and projects; and encouraging the appropriation of innovation and partnerships. Fing ran "programmes d'action innovante" — 18- to 24-month thematic programmes with high innovation potential that brought together companies, public actors, the third sector, researchers and creatives to "discover new continents of innovation." Each programme produced monitoring and foresight on digital uses, organised workshops and events, detected and supported innovative projects in France and elsewhere, sparked field experiments, and published action and innovation avenues, with all work freely available online. In 2008 three action programmes were under way: Villes 2.0, Identités actives and Plus longue la vie. La 27e Région, a programme initiated by the Association des Régions de France, was incubated at Fing from March 2008. Villes 2.0 examined mobility and ICT uses in the city, revisiting urban environments through "2.0" phenomena from the perspective of users, urban actors and infrastructure providers. Identités actives explored how individuals and organisations build, cultivate and juggle their digital identities. Plus longue la vie looked at the contribution of digital technologies to a society where lifespans are lengthening, focusing on intergenerational links, memory, new cohabitations, knowledge sharing and housing. La 27e Région, created in 2007 on the initiative of the Association des Régions de France, was the first public innovation lab charged with helping French regions prepare for the future and evolve their methods, also supported by the Caisse des Dépôts. Fing also produced monitoring and foresight publications. Internet Actu was its watch site, originating from a weekly newsletter, La lettre de la Fing. In 2003 the letter also became an independent blog under a Creative Commons licence and took the name Internet Actu after a partnership with INIST, which held the name. Internet Actu was originally an electronic newsletter published by FTPress and born in September 1999, itself derived from LMB Actu, the electronic version of the CNRS Micro Bulletin. After INIST withdrew in 2006, the title was operated by Fing, which set up a team of partners to support it, published free of charge and without advertising. From 2008 it formed partnerships with several newspapers including Le Monde, La Tribune, Rue89 and Les Échos. Prospectic covered fast-moving science and technology fields expected to have a strong impact on society, relying on around fifty high-level researchers and specialists in nanosciences and nanotechnologies, biology and biotechnologies, computing and networks, energy, neurosciences and cognitive sciences, and complexity sciences. Particularly weakened by the pandemic period, the board meeting on 21 April 2022 decided to place the association in cessation of activity with the Tribunal Judiciaire de Paris. On 27 April 2022 Fing announced its dissolution after 22 years. Part of its activities was taken over by OpenDataFrance. During the transition, the association committed to transmitting the important heritage built over the years to the collectives it had accompanied.

• 2008

  La 27e Région incubated at Fing; three action programmes under way: Villes 2.0, Identités actives, Plus longue la vie.

• 2008

  Internet Actu forms partnerships with newspapers including Le Monde, La Tribune, Rue89 and Les Échos.

• 2007

  La 27e Région created on the initiative of the Association des Régions de France.

• 2006

  After INIST withdraws, Fing operates Internet Actu with a team of partners.

• 2003

  La lettre de la Fing becomes an independent blog under Creative Commons and takes the name Internet Actu.

• 2000

  Fing created by Daniel Kaplan, Jacques-François Marchandise and Jean-Michel Cornu as a French association.

• Board decides to place the association in cessation of activity with the Tribunal Judiciaire de Paris.

• Fing announces its dissolution after 22 years; part of activities taken over by OpenDataFrance.

A non-profit think & do tank placing practices and uses at the heart of foresight and organisational strategy for an open, human and responsible digital society.

• Villes 2.0

  Programme on mobility and ICT uses in the city.

• Identités actives

  Programme on digital identity construction and management.

• Plus longue la vie

  Programme on digital technology in an ageing society.

• La 27e Région

  First public innovation lab for French regions, incubated at Fing.

• Internet Actu

  Watch site synthesising monitoring, opinions and tribunes on Internet and new technologies.

• Prospectic

  Foresight project covering fast-moving science and technology fields.

1. 1Fingfing.org
2. 2À propos – Fingfing.org
3. 3Fondation internet nouvelle générationwikidata.org
4. 4Fondation internet nouvelle générationfr.wikipedia.org