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This article aims to advance the state of the art in constructing transformative scenarios by building upon Boudon’s social theory and to reflect its application to research and innovation futures.

The scenarios are based upon a particular multi-level perspective for research and innovation. They are developed around two time horizons: an explorative scenario stage by 2020 (exploring tensions) and a transformative scenario stage by 2030 (tracing the mechanisms of transformation).

Five scenarios provide comprehensive images of research and innovation regimes and practices, how research and innovation is embedded in society by 2030, and what plausible pathways of evolution toward the transformation of our research and innovation landscape may look like.

The methodology “from explorative to transformative scenarios” provides a meaningful, complementary perspective of standard scenario methodology rather than replacing it.

Foresight practitioners can use the methodology to advance the construction of transformative scenarios. The approach from “explorative to transformative scenarios” is best suited when policy measures are to be addressed.

There has been little guidance on how to construct transformative scenarios. Insights from social theory are leveraged to develop a more consolidated approach. The approach of two time horizons, encompassing an explorative and a transformative stage, is novel and applied to research and innovation futures.

This paper aims to present a set of strategic options for Research and Innovation (R&I) stakeholders in the light of new and emerging ways of organising and performing research.

The paper first reviews the evolution of the R&I landscape and identifies the most influential stakeholders engaged in R&I. In the light of the scenarios developed for the year 2030, a set of strategic options are identified and assessed for each stakeholder group.

R&I systems are now more complex than 50 years ago and will be even more in the future. Radical changes are expected in terms of the ways research is funded, organised and carried out. Some of these transformations are captured by the scenarios developed. The analysis of scenarios indicated that their feasibility and desirability differ across different sectors of industry, and research areas within the research landscape.

Scenarios and strategies presented in the paper bring new considerations on the way research activities are practiced. Further research is considered to be useful on the new modes of research and implications for academia, industry, society and policy makers.

The discussion around the responses of different stakeholders vis-à-vis specific scenarios about the future in R&I practices and organisation gives a practical view about how to deal with associated emerging trends and issues.

Society is a crucial stakeholder of all R&I activities. The transformative scenarios suggest that society will not only be playing a reactive role on the demand side but also more proactive role on the supply side in the decades to come.

The paper is based on work undertaken within the Research and Innovation (RIF) 2030 project. As R&I activities will be important for the development and competitiveness of the EU and its member states, the work presented here is considered to be of value by highlighting how to create more resilient strategies in a fast-changing R&I landscape.