The Project

Concept
The objective of the Forward Engagement Project is to encourage a more profound and continuous interaction between long-range forecasting and long-range policy-making. Encouraging this development is key to better safeguarding our society from unanticipated, strategic surprise and, in particular, assuring the continued ability of democratic governance to successfully deal with an increasing rate of change in every area of human activity.

  Overview of the Program
Forward Engagement makes a compound statement: ( I ) that major social change is accelerating at a rate fast enough to challenge the adaptive capacity of whole societies, including our own; (2) that foresight -- the disciplined analysis of alternative futures -- can provide timely warning of major issues ahead; and (3) that governance -- the process by which policy is set and carried out -- needs to institutionalize foresight. The objective of this project is to make not only theoretical points about the application of foresight to policy, but to produce a practical impact in terms of attitudinal and institutional change. Accordingly, the project develops two "Initiatives" that are designed to be mutually reinforcing Initiative I is aimed at forecasters and policy-makers; Initiative II is aimed at the general public.

   » Read more about the Initiatives

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