Strategic Foresight Analysis Task
A Strategic Foresight Analysis Task is a forecasting task that systematically analyzes driving forces and trends of system change.
- Context:
- It can enable better preparedness by generating explicit, contestable, and flexible senses of the future.
- It can help identify and test assumptions about the current environment.
- It can provide insights about possible futures, enabling organizations to capitalize on opportunities and develop new business strategies.
- It can acknowledge the complexity and uncertainty of predicting exact futures.
- It can support Organizational Mission Setting.
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- Example(s):
- A company using strategic foresight to determine potential disruptions in the supply chain and creating contingency plans.
- An educational institution employing strategic foresight to foresee changes in educational trends and adjust curricula accordingly.
- Counter-Example(s):
- See: Corporate Foresight, Futures Studies, Strategic Thinking, Strategic Planning.
References
2023
- (Wikipedia, 2023) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_foresight Retrieved:2023-7-31.
- Strategic foresight is a planning-oriented discipline related to futures studies. In a business context, a more action-oriented approach has become well known as corporate foresight.[1]
- ↑ Rohrbeck, Rene (2010) Corporate Foresight: Towards a Maturity Model for the Future Orientation of a Firm, Heidelberg: Physica-Verlag, Springer,
2022
- (OPM, 2022) ⇒ https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/human-capital-management/strategic-foresight/
- QUOTE: Strategic foresight is not about predictions of the future. In a complex and uncertain world accurate prediction is a fiction. Strategic foresight instead, is about being prepared for different futures that are all possible, plausible and preferred.
Strategic foresight calls for detailed and systematic analysis of driving forces and trends of change before the development of strategies or plans. Strategic foresight is aimed at finding solutions and responses that are likely to best suit the (evolving) mission and/or organization. Strategic foresight activities enable better preparedness, because they generate explicit, contestable and flexible sense of the future and in so doing, makes it possible to identify and test assumptions we have about our current environment.
Strategic foresight provides insight about the meaning of possible futures which enables organizations to capitalize on opportunities and develop new business strategies that emerge from understanding those opportunities.
- QUOTE: Strategic foresight is not about predictions of the future. In a complex and uncertain world accurate prediction is a fiction. Strategic foresight instead, is about being prepared for different futures that are all possible, plausible and preferred.
2017
- (Iden et al., 2017) ⇒ J Iden, LB Methlie, GE Christensen. (2017). “The Nature of Strategic Foresight Research: A Systematic Literature Review." In: Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier.
- NOTE: It discusses the growth of academic interest in strategic foresight and its significance in providing a coherent theoretical foundation.
2006
- (Hines, Bishop & Slaughter, 2006) ⇒ A Hines, PJ Bishop, RA Slaughter. (2006). “Thinking About the Future: Guidelines for Strategic Foresight." [Online] Available: academia.edu
- QUOTE: “There has perhaps never been a time in human history where strategic foresight is more needed. Whether for business, government, education, nonprofits, or even individual, the …
2005
- (Mietzner & Reger, 2005) ⇒ D Mietzner, G Reger. (2005). “Advantages and Disadvantages of Scenario Approaches for Strategic Foresight." In: International Journal of Technology, inderscienceonline.com.
- NOTE: It examines the advantages and disadvantages of using scenario approaches in strategic foresight, with a focus on continued research.
1997
- (Slaughter, 1997) ⇒ RA Slaughter. (1997). “Developing and Applying Strategic Foresight." In: ABN Report, ams-forschungsnetzwerk.at [PDF].
- NOTE: It explores the need for strategic foresight, highlighting its value in addressing cultural challenges and its direct application to organizational contexts.