Public sector interest in foresight taking off?

I’m in Dubai for a week doing scenarios with a government agency. One can’t help but be impressed by the tremendous interest in the future coming from the UAE. They just released their vision and roadmap for the future.

About a year ago, I had the opportunity to do a scan of foresight work in the government sector and similarly came away impressed with what seems to be significantly growing interest. Singapore Singapore has clearly emerged as a leader in integrating and applying foresight. That story is quite amazing. For those of us who have been going to futures-oriented meetings and conferences for the last few decades, we probably noticed that there always seemed to be someone from Singapore there. They have been working hard and learning how to explore the future, and now offer a great example for other countries that it can be done!

Several other countries have had long-term commitments to the future. Finland has widespread foresight capabilities throughout government (including a Futures Committee in the Parliament), private research organizations, and universities. Finland’s history with foresight began with a constitutional requirement in the 1990s to produce a quadrennial report on the future direction of the nation.

Canada possesses a distinguish foresight capability in its Policy Horizons group. Their experience dates back to 1996 when a Policy Research Secretariat was established in the Office of the Prime Minister. It has changed form a few times over the years but has continued to exist in one form or another.

Many countries now run national technology foresight activities. I recall back in the 1990s using the Japanese Delphi study on the future of science and technology as a valuable resource. And many nations adopted that approach and have since innovated around it

Sweden recently appointed a Minister of the Future.Enough said there!

In the US, there are strong pockets of foresight activity, but not a coordinated effort. I am very encouraged by the development of foresight networks among employees in the federal government: the Federal Foresight Community of Interest and the Public Sector Foresight Network.

And much more than I can identify in a short blog post – it would be great if y’all could add to the list of promising developments.

It is refreshing to be able to suggest to students that the public sector is a viable option for foresight work. There are likely to be great opportunities in the future helping governments new to foresight get their efforts launched and running. – Andy Hines