What was the challenge?

The Research Council of Norway (RCN) identified five strategic areas in pursuit of ground-breaking research, radical innovation and sustainable development. RCN required a robust evidence base to help develop long-term, priority missions to help solve one or more societal challenges, as well as underpinning structural measures of the research environment in Norway. The five strategic areas include: Oceans; Green transition; Health and welfare; Cohesion and globalisation; and Technology and digitalisation.

How did we approach it?

We adopted a mixed method, participatory approach involving a variety of research tools such as trend analyses, literature reviews, stakeholder interviews, focus groups, crowdsourcing ideas from experts, a survey of the public, future scenario analyses and workshops.

The core foresight work allowed us to examine what might happen in the next ten years in the different strategic areas and wider R&I system in Norway. Scenarios of future states were used as the basis for workshop discussions to stress test potential missions and structural measures that the RCN could consider developing and implementing in the future.

What was the outcome or impact of the work?

Extensive findings from this research were published in a series of nine reports. The research was cited as evidence in the RCN’s input to the 2022 revision of the Long-Term Plan for Research and Higher Education 2019–2028, which specifies the Norwegian government’s ambitions, key objectives and priority areas for research and higher education.

The study also helped inform the RCN’s internal decision making, strategies and organisational activities. In addition, a summary of the findings and proposals was presented to the relevant Norwegian minister.

Project webpage: https://www.rand.org/randeurope/research/projects/2021/future-research-innovation-norway.html 

Research outputs:

• Summary report: https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RRA900/RRA966-1/RAND_RRA966-1.pdf 
• Addressing future societal challenges in Norway: Detailed methodology report: https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RRA900/RRA966-1/RAND_RRA966-2.pdf
• A summary of potential cross-cutting missions to address future societal challenges in Norway: https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RRA900/RRA966-1/RAND_RRA966-3.pdf
  
  Structural measures to develop a resilient research and innovation environment in Norway: https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RRA900/RRA966-1/RAND_RRA966-4.pdf
  
  Health and welfare: An analysis of trends, future directions and potential missions to address societal challenges in Norway: https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RRA900/RRA966-1/RAND_RRA966-5.pdf
  
  Oceans: An analysis of trends, future directions and potential missions to address societal challenges in Norway: https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RRA900/RRA966-1/RAND_RRA966-6.pdf
  
  Technology and digitalisation: An analysis of trends, future directions and potential missions to address societal challenges in Norway: https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RRA900/RRA966-1/RAND_RRA966-7.pdf
  
  Cohesion and globalisation: An analysis of trends, future directions and potential missions to address societal challenges in Norway: https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RRA900/RRA966-1/RAND_RRA966-8.pdf
  
  Green transition: An analysis of trends, future directions and potential missions to address societal challenges in Norway: https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RRA900/RRA966-1/RAND_RRA966-9.pdf

Imagination, in common discourse, is often relegated to a secondary domain of thought – a frivolous, playful, and unreliable mental activity confined to childhood, the arts, or, at best, applied creativity. A “magic box” that opens only when logical rigor relaxes, when attention drifts toward invention and fantasy. Yet this view, however seductive, is ultimately reductive – if not misleading.

When examined through the lens of contemporary cognitive science, imagination instead reveals itself as a profound and complex cognitive function. Not only does it actively participate in processes of knowing, but it also constitutes one of their foundational dimensions. It is the mental faculty through which we construct alternative worlds, test hypothetical scenarios, and explore the unknown without needing to experience it directly. Far from being a mere appendage to rational thought, it serves as one of its key structural supports.

Even more striking is what emerges from recent scientific research: imagination possesses a metacognitive character. This means it does not merely generate mental content that diverges from reality, but is also capable of reflecting on itself – monitoring and adjusting its own trajectories, becoming the object of awareness and intentional regulation. In other words, imagining is not just about conjuring what is absent from the world, but also about knowing one is imagining, directing that act toward specific goals, and assessing its quality, limitations, and implications.

This represents a genuine epistemological shift – recasting imagination not as a passive or automatic process, but as a strategic ally of thought. Within this framework, imagination emerges as a faculty that weaves together multiple dimensions of our cognitive experience:

• perception, which provides sensory input;
• intuition, which enables rapid, non-linear associations;
• intentionality, which channels imaginative effort toward a purpose;
• and self-awareness, which allows us to revise and reinterpret what has been imagined, imbuing it with meaning and value.

It is within this layered and dynamic space that imagination assumes a renewed role: no longer a retreat into the unreal, but a critical tool for probing the possible. It becomes the lens through which we may observe not only what is, but what could be – and, through this, reconfigure our relationship with the present.

It enables us to anticipate without predicting, and to plan without constraining.

In educational, professional, and social contexts – and even more so within the fields of Futures Thinking and Foresight – this reconceptualization of imagination as a metacognitive skill proves to be strategically essential. To anticipate the future is not to guess what will occur, but to cultivate a gaze that can recognize alternatives, navigate uncertainties, and imagine trajectories not yet in existence. Doing so requires more than creativity; it demands a deep literacy in conscious imagination.

To rediscover imagination through a metacognitive lens is to restore its dignity as an epistemic, transformative, and educational faculty. A faculty not only capable of generating visions, but also of sustaining, interrogating, and refining them. A power to be reintegrated into our intellectual and civic formation – so that it may help us not only to imagine different worlds, but to understand the conditions that make them possible.

The introduction of a new technology is never an isolated event and never concerns only one market or one domain. There are invariably socio-cultural, political, economic, and environmental implications, as well as impacts, influences, “cross-pollination”, and correlations among different technologies.

The very broad definition of technology itself betrays its intrinsic complexity: a vast field of research involving various technical and scientific disciplines, which examines the application and use of everything that can serve to solve problems. The term “technology” also refers to the aggregate of knowledge, skills, and tools used to design, create, and utilise objects, processes, systems, or services to meet human needs.

An emerging technology, in particular, is one that is radically new and relatively fast-growing technology [it is not necessarily exponential, as the common dialectics of recent years have conditioned us to expect, yet this has little to do with the mathematical concepts of exponentiality; rapid growth does not imply exponentiality]. It is characterised by a certain degree of coherence (or consistency) that persists over time and has the potential to have a substantial impact on the socio-economic-political domains (understood as the players, institutions, and models of interactions between them, as well as all the processes of knowledge production associated with these domains).

Its most significant impact lies in the future and thus in the emergency phase: an emerging technology is still quite uncertain and ambiguous. For this reason, it would be prudent to analyse its potential impacts in a timely manner, to avoid getting trapped in Amara’s Law.

We empower you to work with the future. Our ideas show organizations how to deal with terms like weak signals, trends or white spots, and at the same time energizing to position themselves. We like discussing new developments and trends, with their respective effects on the organization, in order to design frameworks for actions and strenghten the matching future-attitude and accompanying measures.Schaltzeit has successfully provided consulting and operational services within the areas of foresight, ideation, experiences, software and design, to organizations in sectors such as telecommunication, automotive, biotechnology, software development, medicine, cosmetics and others.
We ignite and accompany you on your way to success.
Schaltzeit fills gaps, optimizes processes and forms the link between actors and processes in order to make results transparent and usable and sustainably establishes future-oriented thinking and acting.

WE HAVE A SOCIAL MISSION: TO STIMULATE CRITICAL THINKING ABOUT EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES.
We focus on Futures & Foresight (Futures Thinking / Futures Studies & Strategic Foresight), with a specialization in Technology Foresight and ETS, Emerging Technologies Scanning. We are also dedicated to Futures Literacy, which involves the theoretical and practical literacy of Futures Studies and Futures Thinking. Through a Slow Journalism model, we disseminate and promote knowledge of emerging technologies, analyzing their potential impacts on our possible and alternative futures.

Summary

Core Themes
The book reimagines humanity’s future through planetary foresight, blending historical wisdom with planetary stewardship. It critiques linear Western progress narratives and advocates for a hybrid, cyclical vision of history, emphasizing pluralistic identities and reverence for life.

Structural Framework
Organized into thematic sections, the work begins with “The Mysterious Lord of Time,” challenging linear temporality and introducing non-linear, culturally diverse historical perspectives. “Evolving Belief Systems” contrasts Indo-Iranic, Mesopotamian, and Hellenic thought with Abrahamic traditions, highlighting ancient influences on modern pluralism.

Imagination and Futures
The “Histories of Imagination” section explores myth and storytelling as drivers of civilization, while “Scenarios of Future Worlds” applies foresight methodologies to geopolitical and technological evolution, emphasizing ecological consciousness. The final chapters expand to cosmic intelligence and ethics, framing humanity’s role within universal interconnectedness.

Ethical Vision
Central to the thesis is a call for planetary identity and stewardship, merging forgotten wisdom traditions with modern foresight to navigate ecological and technological uncertainties. The book positions itself as both a philosophical guide and practical framework for ethical transformation in an era of global crises.

Key Argument
Motti asserts that humanity is transitioning from a “Second Nomad Age” (characterized by fragmentation) toward a “Second Settlement Age” marked by planetary consciousness, requiring creative complexity and ethical vigilance.

Delivering solutions for a more sustainable future

ISINNOVA provides research services and strategic consultancy to public and private actors pursuing sustainable visions, solutions, and policies.

Five Pillars of Our Approach

1. Anticipate – Apply systems thinking and foresight methodologies to identify emerging challenges, reveal interdependencies, and inform proactive, future-resilient strategies.

2. Integrate – Connect disciplines, sectors, and knowledge systems to foster richer analysis and tackle complex challenges holistically.

3. Align – Ensure research, innovation, and governance processes reflect the values, priorities, and needs of society through ethical, participatory, and responsible approaches.

4. Co-create – Engage diverse stakeholders — researchers, policymakers, citizens, and industry — in collaborative processes to design solutions that are inclusive, relevant, and impactful.

5. Transform – Drive systemic change by translating shared knowledge and co-created solutions into sustainable, scalable actions, supported by continuous assessment to ensure applicability, effectiveness, and long-term value.

Track Record

• 50+ years in the game (and counting).
• Involved in over 130 research projects (ISINNOVA designs, develops, and manages sector-specific & cross-sector EU and global projects)
• 15 staff members with multidisciplinary backgrounds (engineering, statistics, economics, politics, law, social sciences, computer science and media studies)
  

This movie is a way of connecting three domains that bring me joy currently:
- Strategic Foresight
- Spirituality
- AI
One of the goals is to draw attention to Foresight as one of the Top 5 cutting-edge skills identified in the UN 2.0 agenda, a plan that helps organizations prepare for the future.

I adapted the Scenario Planning method to explore three possible futures and bring them to life through cinematic storytelling.
The film also introduces two trained characters, Lina and Arun, within each scenario, making the movie less formal and more engaging.

I also wanted to show how AI can:
- Serve as a bridge between ideas and skills from different fields.
- Help us discover new aspects of human potential.

This movie isn’t flawless or complete - I’m not a filmmaker, and that’s okay. Its beauty lies in its imperfection, reminding us that sometimes, taking the step to create is more important than getting it perfect. 

Later Edit: The film EXPLORING FUTURES: SCENARIO PLANNING IN COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS was included in the non-competition program of the International "Cartoons about the Future Festival," dedicated to films created with the help of AI. It was screened five times during the event, held on March 28-30, 2025, at the Atom Pavilion at VDNkH, Moscow. The festival, organized by the ATOM Foundation for the Promotion of Scientific, Educational, and Communication Initiatives in collaboration with the Big Cartoon Festival team, featured free screenings of short and full-length animated films over three days, offering audiences a diverse selection of forward-thinking works.

This document provides guidance on how to conduct a structured horizon scanning process to identify emerging developments that could have potential impact in the future, and in particular on the environment. It starts with an overview of the guide (Chapter 1) and an introduction to horizon scanning (Chapter 2) in connection with the concept of futures literacy. It then provides a step-by-step approach for conducting a structured horizon scanning process (Chapter 3), including a variety
of diverse sources for spotting signals, different frameworks for signal scanning and several options to unpack and analyse the collected signals and patterns of change through creative methods and exercises. It also proposes a few different and complementary ways of communicating the findings to relevant stakeholders, networks and communities. Lastly, it suggests some tools (Chapter 4) that can be used to strengthen the scanning process. The annexes offer a detailed comparison of such tools and a glossary of terms related to futures literacy.

Humans have internal clocks that clock vital biological rhythms. These are innate, but can be positively or negatively influenced by the environment. Daily rhythms are regulated by the “circadian system” (the internal clock).
The circadian system is inextricably linked to the regulation of the sleep-wake rhythm. Disruptions to the circadian system can therefore cause sleep disorders and associated cognitive impairment as well as various health problems. 

How do we humans influence our future by neglecting these rhythms? And what can we individually or as an organisation do to support our rhythmic life? Currently, we are de-synchronising ourselves, our organs and our lives... we are on an unhealthy way. What we need is a future chronobiologically enlightened society. 3 Policy Briefs and a final report describe the state of the art of our knowledge and many options for the future.

4CF The Futures Literacy Company is a consultancy entirely focused on strategic foresight and long-term strategies. For nearly two decades, 4CF has been on the mission to help its clients prepare for an uncertain tomorrow. The Company has executed hundreds of projects for private companies, public institutions and international entities, including the European Commission and its agencies (EUDA, ENISA), FAO, UNFCCC, UNESCO, UNEP and UNDP. 4CF is at the forefront of global innovation, and actively contributes to the development of cutting-edge foresight tools, including 4CF HalnyX (Delphi platform), 4CF Sprawlr, 4CF FLEx.

A new series of 'Foresight Starter Sets' is an an essential part of Finland Futures Research Centre's (FFRC) contribution to the Eye of Europe project. One starter set component is a set of short videos. The videos introduce and clarify futures thinking and foresight, what to expect from a foresight workshop, and a variety of foresight workshop methods. The videos could serve as promotional material but also help organizers calibrate participants expectations prior to their participation in a foresight workshop.

Finland Futures Research Centre is developing the video series to help participants prepare to participate in foresight workshops. The videos immediate use is related to the Eye of Europe Pilot Foresight Activities which will run through 2025 and 2026, but the videos will be freely available as a useful resource for foresight organizers outside the scope, and beyond the lifetime, of the project. 

Reaching target audiences with foresight beyond text

As the Work Package lead of Eye of Europe, the FFRC targets two unofficial ambitions underpinning all project activities: First, lowering the bar for organizing and participating in foresight workshops. Second, moving foresight beyond text. That is, finding new audiences via new formats compared to the classic domain of long text-based foresight reports. The set of Foresight Starter Videos aims to achieve both of these premises, as it uses a format of short videos (3-8 minutes per video) to introduce foresight, futures thinking, and futures methods to new audiences with a playful and welcoming tone. 

The video set has two introductory videos that can be used in advance of any foresight workshop, while the ambition for the following videos relate to specific methods and approaches. The presumed use case is that foresight organizers can provide links to the introductory videos for foresight workshop participants in advance of their participation. We have found at the FFRC that sometimes people, even if they are domain experts in other fields, can be apprehensive prior to foresight workshops, as this may be unfamiliar territory for them (and for people used to being experts, unfamiliar can mean uncomfortable). 

Foresight Starter Set Video Roadmap

Launching the first videos

The series of videos are developed by Martyn Richards and Zainab Yasin at the Finland Futures Research Centre. The videos will be hosted on the Finland Futures Research Centre’s YouTube Channel as well as feature on the Futures4Europe platform’s upcoming Toolbox, a set of useful methodologies and resources for advancing R&I foresight. 

As of December 2024, the first video on “Untangling Futures and Foresight: An Essentials Guide” is now available on YouTube.  

Insight Foresight Institute (IF-Institute) is an independent research and consultancy firm founded in Madrid (Spain) in 2015. We orchestrate expertise in entrepreneurial innovation ecosystems to spark and drive structural changes, enhance resilience and direct society towards social, economic and environmental sustainability.

Our main sectors

Education|Energy And Environment | Health And Social Care | ICT | Manufacturing | Research And Innovation | Services | Transport And Infrastructure

Our solutions

* Activation & Alignment – scaling up ecosystem activities
* Insight & Foresight – assessing the past performance and exploring future developments
* Strategy & Governance – providing direction and structures
* Training & Mentoring – building capacities and capabilities
* Programming & Implementation – turning visions into action

Our partners

We offer a platform for experts and organisations to come up with creative and viable solutions to complex problems. We work with business, policy, academia and other stakeholders.

* We help established companies to position themselves in the wider ecosystem and work with stakeholders to empower their innovation activities.
* We help startups to define their growth plans and work with other organisations to scale up their transformative business.
* We help policymakers and their stakeholders to improve ecosystem performance and work together for transformative change. Our sectors

Futures Conference 2025 focuses on the futures of technologies, their development, importance, role and risks as a driver of social change. What are the effects of social and environmental changes on technological development and vice versa?

‘Futures of Technologies’ is the 25t h international Futures Conference of the Finland Futures Research Centre and Finland Futures Academy, University of Turku. It is organised together with the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd during 10–12 June 2025 in Turku, Finland.

Keynote Speakers
Ali Aslan Gümüşay is professor of Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Sustainability at LMU Munich and head of research group Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Society at the Humboldt Institute for Internet & Society Berlin. His research focuses on values, meaning and hybridity in entrepreneurship; grand challenges, sustainability and new forms of organizing; digitalization, management and innovation as well as impact, scholarship and futures.

Cynthia Selin is a pioneering social scientist and strategic foresight expert known for developing innovative methodologies to navigate complex change and advance the theoretical boundaries of anticipation. An Associate Fellow at the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, and core faculty in the Oxford Scenarios Programme, Dr. Selin also founded Scenaric, a consulting firm that equips organizations to tackle uncertainty and shape resilient futures.

Philip Brey is professor of Philosophy and Ethics of Technology at the University of Twente. He is member of the management team (and former chairman) of the 4TU Center for Ethics & Technology, a partnership of the universities of Twente, Delft, Eindhoven and Wageningen with more than 60 researchers.

Jerome C. Glenn co-founded and directs The Millennium Project, a leading global participatory think tank with over 70 Nodes around the world. He is assisting the UN Council of Presidents of the General Assembly on the UNGA’s role in governance of Artificial General Intelligence, author/editor forthcoming Global Governance of Artificial General Intelligence (De Gruyter), lead author State of the Future 20.0 and Future Work/Tech 2050: Scenarios and Actions and co-editor Futures Research Methodology 3.0 with Ted Gordon. Glenn has directed over 80 futures research projects and is a member of the IEEE SA P2863 Organizational Governance of AI working group.

Rohit Talwar (CEO, Fast Futures, UK) was recently in the top three in 'the Global Gurus Top 30 futuris' rankings for 2025. He is an inspirational futurist and the CEO of Fast Future, delivering award-winning keynote speeches, executive education, foresight, research, consultancy, and coaching. Rohit was delivered over 2000 speeches, workshops, and consulting assignments for clients in 80+ countries across six continents. He is the co-author and lead editor of nine books and over 50 reports on the emerging future and appears regularly on TV and in print media around the world. 

Read more about the Keynotes. 

Conference Newsletters

• Conference Newsletter #1 (4.11.2024)
• Conference Newsletter #2 (26.11.2024)  
• Conference Newsletter #3 (08.01.2025) 
• Conference Newsletter #4 (25.03.2025)    

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.

This is the first episode of Futures4Europe conversations, initiated by the Eye of Europe project – a series of dialogues between Bianca Dragomir and professionals from all over the world, who engage in work that is future sensitive.

About this episode - On engaging meaningfully with futures

Often framed as a professional activity essential for 'planning', guiding 'decision making' or 'orienting strategies', futures studies could be more generously placed in the realm of humanities where, along other human capacities, imagination and anticipation should be nurtured and celebrated.

In this light, futures education is more like a tending a garden. Like doing the soil work that turns it into the fertile ground for seeds to grow into 'flowers' such as human creativity, a heightened awareness of the mechanisms of change, agency coupled with humility, a sense of taking part into shaping something yet non-existent.

Peter Bishop, founder of Teach the Future, argues that this garden should be welcoming everyone, including young people, or perhaps especially them.