The Futures Wheel is a participatory method to explore possible future direct implications and knock-on effects of a chosen change factor. This booklet presents a basic structure for a Futures Wheel workshop, which can be further tailored to specific needs. 

The Futures Wheel exploration starts with imagine a future where a selected change factor has become a reality. The next step is to describe potential direct implications of this development, followed by knock-on effects resulting from the direct implications. The workshop ends with identifying, for example, emerging themes, risks, opportunities, or other aspects for further reflection or analysis.

Explore the Futures Wheel workshop and download materials for your workshop here. 

JRC hosted a panel discussion at the UN Summit of the Future on September 21st 2024 on how foresight can complement classical risk assessment methods.

The United Nations will publish its first Global Risk Report in Autumn 2024. This follows the UNDRR UN Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction in 2023. The Joint Research Centre of the European Commission published in June 2024 its report "Risks on the Horizon". In addition, the World Economic Forum published its Global Risk Report in January 2024 . The panel gathered together experts behind these reports and speakers highlight how existing foresight methods can help to identify future risks, many of which were inter-generational, by using methods which do not rely on a risk already being known.