When Governments Practice Foresight

(This is a revision of a post first published in December 2018.)

What does it look like when an entire government or a large government agency commits to a futures lens?   Exploring them greatly sparks creativity and curiosity about how groups are challenging current assumptions about the present and exploring the tools to inform more desirable futures.  

This is an ever-evolving resource.

Africa (Continent-wide)

• Africa Foresight Academy (both private sector and government mentioned)
• The capacity to decolonise: Building futures literacy in Africa (2021)

Armenia

• From ancient history to a transformed future: Can Armenia leapfrog? (2019)

Australia

• The Next 25 (2021)

Brazil

• Technology foresight on emerging technologies: Implications for a national innovation initiative in Brazil (2015)

Cambodia

• Using imagination, information and insight to prepare the UN for the future – focus on Cambodia (2022)
• Cambodia Futures Lab (2021)

Canada

• Policy Horizons Canada (Multiple issues/report)

China

Note: These two offerings are “about” foresight relevant to China – no examples of foresight by the Chinese government could be located for this scan.

• Strategic foresight in China: The other missing dimension (2021)

• Foresight 2020: Challenges facing China (2020)

European Union

• Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy Europe Strategic Foresight session (2021)

European Policy Lab

• Foresight and design fictions meet at a policy lab: An experimentation approach in public sector innovation (2021)
• European Union Policy Lab (Multiple issues/reports)

Finland

• Prime Minister’s Office on Foresight (Multiple issues and reports)
• Towards national systems level foresight? Understanding the role and future directions of citizen participation in the production of Finnish national foresight reports (2021)
• Committee for the Future/Parliament of Finland
• Finland Futures Research Centre/University of Turku (Multiple issues/reports)
• Sitra/Foresight and Insight (Multiple issues and reports)

France

• Imagining the future with citizens: Participatory foresight and democratic policy designn in Marcoussis, France (2021)
• Foresight in the state public service in France: An overview (2020)

Germany

• Foresight Project: The Future of Humanitarian Action (2022)
• Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Multiple issues/reports)
• Strategic foresight: Shaping Germany’s post-pandemic future (2021)

Greece

• Greece is taking strategic foresight seriously (2021)
• Special Secretary of Foresight Strategy (2022)

Indigenous Nations

• Strategic Foresight in Métis Communities: Lessons from Indigenous Futurism (2019)
• Supporting Tribal climate change adaptation planning through community participatory strategic foresight scenario development (2014)

Iran

• Health information technology foresight for Iran: A Delphi study of experts’ views to inform future policymaking (2021)
• Analyzing Iran’s science and technology foresight programs: Recommendations for further practices (2018)

Ireland

• Towards a strategic foresight system in Ireland (2021)

Japan

• Japan’s global vision: Tokyo’s evolving foresight practices, Indo-Pacific strategy and EU partnership (2021)
• National Institute of Science and Technology Policy (Multiple issues/reports)

New Zealand

• Futures thinking/Strategic Futures Group/Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
• Foresight, insight and oversight: Enhancing long-term governance (2019)

Pakistan

• Pakistan Foresight Lab

Phillipines

• Strategic foresight as a tool and competency for the elected government officials in the Capital region and Rizal province for policy and decision making (2021)

Scotland

• Scotland’s Futures Forum
• Foresight is required to reimagine a resilient Scotland (2021)

Singapore

• Foresight for Governance in Singapore (2019)

South Korea

• Applying foresight to policy agenda-setting: A successful case in South Korea (2021)
• Korea National Foresight overview (2018)
• National foresight in Korea: History of futures studies and foresight in Korea (2018)

Sweden

• Foresight in Sweden (2021)
• Strategic Foresight Office/Secretriat for Strategic Development
• Sweden’s MInister of the Future explains how to make politicians think long-term (2015)

United Kingdom

• Futures, Foresight and Horizon Scanning/Government Office for Science
• Foresight projects/Government Office for Science
• Futures Toolkit: Tools for Futures Thinking and Foresight Across UK Government (2017)

United States

• Center for Strategic Foresight/Government Accountability Office
• Federal Foresight Community of Interest
• United States Army Futures Command
• 2022 Federal Workforce Priorities Report (note #8 is developing agency foresight capability)
• Mayors as futurists: Foresight for city leaders (2018)

Wales

• Future Trends Report Wales 2021
• Well being of Future Generations Act (2015)

General and/or regional:

• Public Sector Foresight Network (Various activities, meetings and resources)
• Civil society foresight observatory (2021)
• How the war in Ukraine affects strategic foresight? Visions from France and Japan (2022)
• Features of effective systemic foresight in governments around the world (2021)
• Foresight in the time of Covid-19 – Western Pacific Region/WHO (2021)
• Futures thinking in Asia and the Pacific: Why foresight matters for policy matters (2020)
• OECD Government Foresight Community Annual Meeting Report: Strategic foresight for future-ready public policy 2020
• Creating the government of the future (2020)
• Governance Futures Lab (IFTF)
• OECD – Strategic foresight for better policies (2019)
• Participatory Futures – NESTA (2019-2020)
• Boston, J. (Ed.) (2017). Governing for the future: Designing democratic institutions for a better tomorrow. Emerald Publishers.
• The Millenium Project

United Nations

• Foresight, Emerging Issues and Futures
• Preparing for the future: Seeding anticipatory governance in the Pacific (2022)
• United Nations increasing its foresight capacity (2021)
• Anticipatory Governance – a Primer (2020)
• Foresight manual/Empowered futures (2018)
• Futures literacy: An essential competency for the 21st century
• Applying foresight and alternative futures to the UN development assistance framework (2016)
• Foresight as a strategic planning tool for developing countries (2015)