Horizon Scanning Centre
The Foresight Horizon Scanning Centre was set up in 2005 as a centre of excellence for strategic futures thinking to encourage longer term thinking and evidence-based analysis throughout Government.
Our goal is to support the use of evidence-based futures thinking in developing more innovative Government strategies and policies which are resilient to different future outcomes.
The Centre works with departments to help them improve their futures capability. At a time of substantial public service reform, futures thinking has a critical role to play in helping to ensure that wider perspectives are identified, traditional assumptions challenged and new possibilities explored.
Our main activities are:
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Futures projects – The Foresight Horizon Scanning Centre does short projects, looking at more discrete issues 10-15 years in the future. The Centre has contributed to the development of policy in several government departments through its projects. Recent examples include Technology and Innovation Futures, World Trade Scenarios (PDF, 1.1 Mb) and Dimensions of Uncertainty (PDF, 1.0 Mb) .
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Training and tools - Foresight has published a toolkit is based on the work of the Foresight programme since 2002. There is also an online version of Foresight's popular strategic futures training.
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The Sigma scan – an online searchable set of research papers that look 50 years into the future. The sigma scan covers the whole public policy spectrum of social, technological, political, economical and environmental issues.
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Networks – Until recently, the Futures Analysts’ Network (FAN Club) was a forum for those who have an interest in horizon scanning and futures analysis. Five years on, the FAN Club has seen its initial purpose largely fulfilled and Foresight is currently considering new arrangements to meet Government needs for this Autumn – newsletters from the meetings of the former FAN Club can be found here.
