A guide to anticipation: Webinar on the essential tools and methods for horizon scanning and strategic foresight

Foresight is receiving growing attention on the international stage as a set of tools to support proactive sustainable development. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Science Council (ISC) have partnered on a global horizon scanning and foresight exercise. The exercise resulted in a global foresight report that identified a set of critical shifts and signals of change that will likely impact the future of planetary health and human wellbeing.

As part of the foresight exercise, the ISC and UNEP have also identified a need to reflect on the field of foresight and horizon scanning itself, and its multiple approaches, tools and practices through reviewing the landscape of available tools and methods developed over the past decades. This review shows how such tools and methods address present day and future global challenges.

Webinar: Launch of the UNEP-ISC Working Paper on tools and methods of horizon scanning and foresight

On 9 September 2024, we launched the Working Paper “A guide to anticipation: Working Paper on tools and methods of horizon scanning and foresight“, that emerged from this reflection. It presented the outcomes of the review, offering a synthesis of existing foresight tools and methods from the empirical literature, along with critical reflections on new approaches and applications of foresight. The Working Paper deliberately opened up questions and debates on the limits and new frontiers of foresight methods and practices through a set of essays.

This launch webinar presented the literature review conducted by the Australian Academy of Science to provide an overall landscape of existing tools and methods. The session also featured 3 lightning talks on key areas for the evolution of foresight and how scientific and other knowledge can support a more anticipatory governance and culture of decision-making.

As the world grapples with rapid and unprecedented changes, especially related to the environment and technology, there is a renewed focus on looking into the future to identify drivers of change and uncertainty which can inform decisions taken today.

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Working Paper

A guide to anticipation: Working paper on tools and methods of horizon scanning and foresight

International Science Council. 2024. ‘A guide to anticipation: Working Paper on Tools and Methods of Horizon Scanning and Foresight’. Paris, France. International Science Council.

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Agenda and speakers

• Overview of the existing landscape of tools and methods: Lauren Sullivan and Maxine Newlands, Australian Academy of Science
• Lightning talk “Embracing community-led and indigenous perspectives in foresight”: Ranjan Datta, Assistant Professor Canada Research Chair, Mount Royal University, Canada
• Lightning talk “Future directions for scenario and foresight practice”: László Pintér, Professor at the Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy, Central European University, Austria
• Lightning talk “Foresight to action”: Diana Mangalagiu, Adjunct Professor, Sciences Po, France and Professor at the Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, UK
• Discussion
• Closing: Jason Jabbour, Senior Programme Coordinator, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
• Moderation: James Waddell, ISC Science Officer and Political Affairs Liaison

Photo by Peter Kasprzyk on Unsplash