Great video about the recent Knowlab at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission in Ispra Italy. Their agenda: "A Knowledge Lab to Evaluate and Improve the Use of Foresight in Addressing Societal Challenges".
What do we mean when we talk about "using the future"?
How can we identify new ways to address old problems, such as food insecurity and destruction of ecosystems?
How can we better anticipate change?
How can we more effectively use our understandings of the future to positively impact the world around us?
Foresight methods, or qualitative and quantitative approaches to better anticipate and understand potential futures, offer a promising way to address these questions. The methods are relatively new to the social sector, although they are established in the defense, technology, and finance sectors. UNESCO, the European Commission, and The Rockefeller Foundation have aimed to be pioneers in adapting and innovating foresight methods to address some of society’s most pressing global challenges. The Knowledge Lab will provide a facilitated setting for participants to assess key lessons learned based on case studies from these three institutions, identify emerging good practices, and offer recommendations.
The three-day program convenes 45 senior leaders and practitioners from the innovation, foresight, and evaluation communities and spans the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. They will engage in an in-depth examination of case studies about how UNESCO, The Rockefeller Foundation, and the European Commission have used foresight or other forward-looking strategies toward making a positive impact on the world. For example, the Rockefeller Foundation cases focus on strategic processes for identifying pressing global challenges (e.g. urban food insecurity), prioritizing the problems that are showing momentum for change and potential for innovation, and then comparing and assessing possible opportunities for impact if the Foundation were to invest.
Drawing on the case studies, participants will then generate insights, questions, and recommendations to further the use and evaluation of the future for opportunity selection and policy development.
[more info] [h/t Noah Raford]
