IMS2020 was an FP7 project funded by the NMP division of the European Commission within the Intelligent Manufacturing Systems (IMS) framework. It was conducted by an international consortium of 15 core partners and a large group of supporting members from Europe, Japan, Korea, Switzerland and the USA. The main objective was the creation of five research roadmaps towards IMS by 2020 and beyond, in the key areas of sustainable manufacturing, products and services; energy-efficient manufacturing; key technologies; standardisation; and innovation, competence development and education.

JRC-IPTS devised and coordinated the scenario work. Four scenario snapshots for 2025 were built on four impact dimensions, and a joint vision drew on the scenario features that partners rated desirable and at least somewhat likely. Research topics were refined through an open wiki and prioritised in an online survey with 359 participants, and the roadmaps set out research topics and supporting actions for international cooperation.

International foresight exercises are characterised by geographical dispersion, organisational and cultural differences, and the diversity arising from a large number of participants with different expectations and needs. Building on the experience of designing and managing the Intelligent Manufacturing Systems (IMS) 2020 project, this article develops four principles for the design and management of global foresight exercises.

The first principle, understanding interconnected innovation systems, ensures that participants position the foresight exercise and their own activities in a global context. The second, responsiveness towards diverse languages and cultures, strengthens commitment and encourages learning and creative problem solving. The third, capacity to reconfigure international networks, takes advantage of existing organisational structures and facilitates the timely and efficient mobilisation of stakeholder communities. The fourth, 'glocal' impact orientation, connects foresight activities to both local and international decision-making structures. Because global projects are heterogeneous, all four principles need to be implemented with a scalable design approach.

IMS2020 combined scenarios, vision-building and roadmapping on intelligent and sustainable manufacturing systems. Four scenario snapshots for 2025 informed a shared vision, and research topics were refined through an open wiki and prioritised in an online survey with 359 participants.

Cagnin, C., & Könnölä, T. (2014). Global foresight: Lessons from a scenario and roadmapping exercise on manufacturing systems. Futures, 59, 27–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2014.01.007 

Foresight needs more than just scenarios and analysis; it needs images, stories, metaphors, and emotional access to collective imagination. How can storytelling help people navigate complexity, uncertainty, and change? Through the work of internationally awarded filmmaker, story artist, and teacher, Alice Manieri, we explore imagination as a practical tool for foresight: a way to make abstract systems visible, transform knowledge into experience, and expand the cultural stories through which societies understand possible futures.

The podcast covers a range of topics about the future and foresight. 

The World Futures Studies Federation offers its standards to institutions interested in achieving accreditation in futures studies. Institutions offering programmes which meet the Federation’s standards will be credentialed as an Accredited Foresight Programme. Accreditation will extend for a period of five (5) years. Review of accreditation will be available every five (5) years to ensure programmes continue to maintain high quality standards of the Federation.


We provide accreditation only to education providers that have been recognized by the relevant department or ministry of education in their country as a tertiary education provider.

How To Apply: https://wfsf.org/accreditation-services/ 

Anselm Kamperman Sanders and Anke Moerland, Professors of Intellectual Property Law at Maastricht University, share their ‘expert-generated’ responses to prompts concerning the outlook of intellectual property regulation. The two coordinators of the Horizon 2020 European IP Institutes Network Innovation Society project (EIPIN-Innovation Society), completed in 2021, point to global trends and highlight how emerging challenges for IP regulation and innovation management are already on the table.

Welcome to "Global Futures of Climate”, the first Course in our series on Global Systems designed for individuals and organisations committed to facing global challenges and finding solutions.

This self-paced, online Climate Education Course is scientifically-based, and incredibly well researched to give you a deep understanding of our emerging world, providing a solid basis for you to build your personal, professional, and family futures. The innovative solutions offered align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Course Content includes 12 Lessons across 3 Modules: Climate Change, Energy Systems, and Ecosystem. There are two lessons in each, examining the challenges, and addressing the alternatives. 

The Course Content incorporates over 100 learning resources, including:

• 12 Lessons over 3 Modules: Climate Change, Energy Systems, Ecosystem.
• 12 Lessons over 3 Modules: Climate Change, Energy Systems, Ecosystem.
• Four lessons per Module, two on the challenges, two addressing the solutions.
• 12 Instructor videos (one per Lesson) to guide you through the Course Content and Resources .
• Over 40 expert videos (climate and ocean scientists, EC, UN, OECD, European Parliament, Carbon Brief, WWF, World Bank, Universities)
• Over 50 expert articles/reports (NASA, UN, IPCC, UNFCC, UNSDGs, State of the Planet, Blue Carbon Initiative, Greenpeace,
• Universities, UNDP, Global Commission for Adaptation, to name a few).
• 36 reflection questions to journal your progress.
• 60 fun quiz Qs to test knowledge gained.
• Certificate of Completion.

Collaborative research on the human capacity to understand, anticipate, prepare for, and embrace the future.

About Futures Consciousness

The futures consciousness concept and scale has been developed by researchers at the Finland Futures Research Centre (University of Turku) and University of Geneva, with help from other contributors. Teach the Future received a grant from the World Futures Studies Federation (WFSF) and the Prince Mohammad bin Fahd University (PMU) to adapt the Scale for use by young people, ages 12-18. The results of that grant are being submitted for publication by the partners. After that, the Scale will be available for use by schools and other organizations that work with youth. The details will be published on this page shortly.
Take the test.
The Five Dimensions of Futures Consciousness are:

• time perspective; the ability to be aware of the past, present and future, as well as the way events follow each other over time
• agency beliefs; basic sense of confidence that an individual has in their own ability to influence the external world
• openness to alternatives; abilities used to critically question commonly accepted ideas and influences an individual’s willingness to consider alternative ways of being and doing
• systems perception; the ability to recognize human and natural systems around us including groups, societies and ecosystems
• concern for others; relates to the degree to which an individual pursues favourable futures for a group beyond themselves
  

Our partners

Teach the Future collaborates with the University of Turku in Finland, the Finland Futures Research Centre and Digital Futures to research and promote the work in the context of education and (young) students. Sanna Ahvenharju, Matti Minkkinen and Fanny Lalot are the research experts that developed the futures consciousness concept and scale. 

Our activities

Teach the Future supports the de velopment of a scale matching the language and level of young people. This project is in collaboration with schools in the Netherlands, Italy, Turkiye, United States, and United Kingdom. And we thank our sponsor the Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd, Center for Futuristic Studies.
Next to this we support the testing. Erica Bol has wo rked with Martin de Wolf of the Master Learning and Innovation at the Fontys University of Applied Sciene. She designed a futures lesson program supporting the Master program and tested if the students futures consciousness improved. The students did a test before and after the lessons program. A paper on the project and results are published in FUTURES issue 12-2022.

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.

Earth4All is an international initiative to accelerate the systems-change we need for an equitable future on a finite planet. Our analysis combines the best available science with new economic thinking. We found that the next ten years must see the fastest economic transformation in history if we want to steer humanity away from social and ecological catastrophe. 

Earth4All started as a vibrant collective of leading economic thinkers, scientists, policy leaders, and advocates, convened by The Club of Rome, the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, the Stockholm Resilience Centre and the Norwegian Business School.

Building on the legacies of The Limits to Growth and the Planetary Boundaries frameworks, science is at the heart of our work. Leading scientists have developed state of the art systems dynamic models and run different scenarios for possible plausible futures.

Earth4All is guided by a Transformational Economics Commission, made up of economic thinkers from across the globe to explore new economic thinking and test the model outcomes.

The third pillar is a global campaign that aims to make the Earth4All vision a reality, advocating for governments to adopt policies that will enable resilient and healthy societies.

We are providing a platform to connect and amplify the voices of people and organisations who want to upgrade our economies. The momentum is growing, with communities and policy makers around the world pushing for economic systems change.