Foresight Reports

Foresight as an Outsider Activity

Tim Mack

Tim Mack

Submitted by Tim Mack on

Futurist consultants who work with client organizations are typically outsiders, who may bring subjectivity to their foresight work but also less expertise in the client’s industry than insiders possess. Challenges include recognizing internal competing constituencies, engaging participants across departmental silos, building stakeholder networks, and overcoming an issue many consultants face of clients’ expectation not just to advise but also to implement strategies based on the foresight work. By Timothy C. Mack

Financially Advantageous Approaches to Sustain the Ecosystem

Submitted by Dennis Bushnell on

Abstract: This report considers the use of financial gain as incentive to accelerate sustainable approaches and the promotion and development of sustainability as a whole, including ecosystem preservation and climate-change mitigation. This approach has already yielded success in accelerating renewable energy generation and storage, as there had been little progress until costs dropped to the point of being the best solution financially. Here, we examine the particulars of this financially driven renewables success story, which enables us to collect and ideate similar approaches and technologies for ecosystem rejuvenation and sustainability. By Dennis M. Bushnell

Frontier Technologies and the Human Future: Sustainability Solutions

Submitted by Dennis Bushnell on

Abstract: Technological revolutions have contributed to societal issues with potentially existential impacts. As we leave the IT Age and enter the Virtual Age, society will require frontier technologies and systems-level approaches to address, mitigate, and possibly reverse these serious concerns, redirecting our focus from economic growth to sustainability. By Dennis M. Bushnell

Forecasting After Brexit

Submitted by Lisa on

Photo: Foto-Rabe / Pixabay

Abstract: The historic June 23, 2016, vote by Britons to exit the European Union (dubbed “Brexit”) surprised pundits, policy makers, and even many voters themselves. Whether the move becomes a prelude to further exits or a lesson for those favoring stronger ties with international partners is yet hard to predict, but the long-term fallout may be more worrisome than short-term disruptions. By Joergen Oerstroem Moeller.

Digital Citizenship: The Case for a National ID Card

Submitted by tom on

ABSTRACT: The tensions between privacy and security and between distrust of government and fear of hackers may not be relieved soon, but advancing technologies for digital identification and data storage make the possibility of national identity cards increasingly imminent. Potential benefits could include reduced fraud in tax and voting systems, but the “killer app” for a national ID card would be a solution for immigration reform. By Dr. Karl Albrecht

2030: How Technology Professionals Will Work

Submitted by tom on

The 2030 workplace will be driven not just by new technologies, but also by cultural change, the global economy, and the manner in which coming generations look at the nature of their work and how it interfaces with their professional, social, and personal lives. This report addresses the critical questions of how we’ll work, how we’ll be trained for that work, and what tools we’ll have for that work, as well as trends in workplace communication, collaboration, new arenas of employment, and new workplace locations worldwide. By Timothy C. Mack

Inclusive Foresight for Finland

Submitted by tom on

In this paper, adapted from a recent interview, Dr. Ulla Rosenström discusses key foresight projects and focus areas of the Prime Minister’s Office in Finland. She describes what other countries can learn from Finland’s foresight efforts, what the futures community can expect from new Prime Minister Juha Sipilä’s government in terms of foresight efforts, lessons learned from previous participatory foresight projects, and the importance of stakeholder engagement in the foresight process as a way to have more actionable results. By Ulla Rosenström and Nicolas Balcom Raleigh

IT Revolution, Aerospace, and Society

Submitted by tom on

The convergence of major ongoing technology revolutions has multiplying effects. The information technology revolution enabled subsequent technology revolutions to develop and spread: The world is avowedly technologically “flat.” This paper explores the major technology revolutions— IT, biologics, nano, quantum, and energetics—their implications for aerospace research and space exploration, and their impacts on society at large. By Dennis M. Bushnell

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