Futures community
Foresight aims to help government think systematically about the future.
The UK’s Foresight Programme is recognised as world leaders in futures thinking within government. We bring together key people, knowledge and ideas. It enables them to look beyond normal planning horizons and to identify opportunities that could arise from new science and technologies and to explore the actions that we might take to help to realise those opportunities.
The Foresight Horizon Scanning Centre aims to strengthen futures thinking resources capacity and share best practice within and across government so those responsible for developing policy and strategy in government understand how the decisions they make today might affect the future. In this way, Foresight can help policy makers to reach more stable decisions that are more likely to survive the uncertainties of the future.
The Foresight Horizon Scanning Centre provides tools and support to spread good practice in departmental horizon scanning, including coaching, providing advice, brokering agreements and creating synergies that make the best use of resources and facilitate capacity-building.
The centre manages the following networks:
Futures Analysts' Network - The FAN Club
The Future Analysts' Network (FAN Club) has been running since 2005 as a forum where those who have an interest in horizon scanning and futures analysis could meet to exchange new ideas, innovative thinking and good practice. Five years on, in terms of its aims to help build capacity and some sense of community across Government Department futures workers, the FAN Club has seen its initial purpose largely fulfilled. The FAN Club event held in Cardiff on 19 May will therefore be the last under the current model. A report on that meeting will appear on the website in due course in the usual way.
Foresight will now consider how best to take forward Government Departments' futures networking needs, with a view to having new arrangements in place in the autumn.
Coaching events
The Foresight Horizon Scanning Centre provides one-off futures coaching events in particular areas of need. Find out more.
