Handbook by Centre for Strategic Futures: “articulates the CSF’s updated understanding of foresight—what we find true in theory and useful in practice. Here, we share what we have learned, from both our own experience and others’.
What is in this publication?
This publication has three sections:
1. Foundations—explaining what foresight is, the value it brings, and the dispositions that its work requires.
2. Forms—describing different kinds of foresight projects and offering examples.
3. Footholds—providing heuristics and ideas for putting foresight to work.
Who is this publication for?
This publication is written mainly for public sector foresight practitioners, which is who we are.
But if you find anything written so far interesting, then this handbook is for you, too. We wrote it to be readable by avoiding jargon and writing plainly.
How should one treat this publication?
You can read it linearly or modularly. To encourage you to meander through the handbook, we made wayfinding easy and left breadcrumbs along the way.
There is no single right way to do foresight. Throughout, we invite you to treat what you read as a starting point. Whether you are new to foresight or have practised it for a long time, we hope this handbook will be a useful and enjoyable companion on your journey into the future we are all heading into.
