Futures, foresight and horizon scanning

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Futures, foresight and horizon scanning

Foresight strategies, tools and techniques to anticipate future scenarios

Il corso è disponibile in English

This tailor-made course is available upon request. It may be customized for local, national, and international organizations. 

Contact us to learn more.

"If we always do what we have always done, we will get what we’ve always got." 

- Adam Urbanski 

About the Foresight Lab

Organizations need to adapt, survive, innovate and renew in an environment of continuous change.

The challenges that we face today cannot be solved by solutions that worked in the past. That's why we developed the Foresight Lab. The lab supports participants through a set of qualitative foresight tools and processes.

In the lab, you will:

  • Engage in collaborative, hands-on exercises to imagine possible futures
  • Discuss emerging visions for the future
  • Explore the implications for your organisation, institution or professional context

Through a series of future-oriented conversations, you will learn how to make decisions, influence change, and design strategies based on possible, probable, and alternative futures.

Who takes this course?

Do you want to brush up on your problem solving skills for complex challenges?

This course will help you step back and see the bigger picture of change, so you can address your next challenge in a more informed, future-inspired way. Foresight tools and methods are useful for any professional whose work requires collaborative decision making and shared agendas.

What are the learning objectives?

By the end of this learning experience, you will:

  • Understand strategic foresight analysis
  • Construct possible, probable, and desirable futures, based on identified challenges
  • Use a range of innovative methods and tools for collaborative foresight
  • Promote a culture of forward thinking in the world of work

You will apply foresight methods to areas of interest, which will be identified through a needs analysis.

How will you learn?

This training activity will include a two-day, face-to-face Foresight Lab.

We will work with you to design the programme. All participants must complete a preliminary needs analysis, in the form of an online survey. You will then receive a short introductory video and preparatory tasks.

The Foresight Lab will include online learning materials and tools, as well as a customizable Foresight Toolbox. 

Here's an illustration of the foresight process:

The foresight process illustrated

 

What are the topics?

The Foresight Lab will have a thematic approach with different entry points.

Day 1

  • Introduction to the foresight mindset and vocabulary
  • Trends, signals, and drivers of change
  • Mapping of future challenges in a complex context

Day 2

  • “What if” scenario building and creation of alternative futures
  • Empathy maps, user journeys, and future personas
  • Prototyping future props and artefacts

Day 3

  • Developing actionable strategies based on alternative futures
  • Designing experiments as part of the developed strategies
  • Exploring synergies and connections to enhance a foresight culture

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