Strategic Foresight, an important subfield of futures studies, is a discipline organizations use to gather and process information about their future operating environment. This information can include, for example, trends and developments in their political, economic, social, technological, and legal environments.

If a foresight program is to be established, someone needs to do the work. That's the first and primary resource. But human resources need to be supported by other resources too, from information sources to internal networks. In this article, we focus on the human and information resources needed to build and run a successful foresight program.

Organizations should involve their people in creating a vision that is shared by everybody. Great foresight tools invite employees to participate in, and get inspired by, foresight work. Technology alone doesn't ensure participation. But easy-to-use tools certainly help in fostering engagement, especially if people are scattered around.

Foresight deliverables are often simple signals of change that an organization gathers from its environment. The organization also needs to be able to process these signals. This could involve angular reviews, deep dive analyses, or workshops. All of this requires a defined purpose, owner, and format.

Collecting information that eventually comes to be called “foresight” is a process. Whether we’re talking about within a systematic foresight program or in a single project. So what exactly is the “foresight process”?

Key Success Factors of a Foresight ProgramA good foresight program doesn't pop out of anywhere. Organisations that wish to understand the future and prepare for it need a good program in place.

Successful foresight activities must answer: What are the alternative futures the organization faces? How likely are the different futures to unfold? And, given the options, what actions can the organization take to achieve its goals? Foresight analysis, when correctly done, has many proven benefits for businesses and organisations across all industries.

We've already covered here what Strategic Foresight is and why it matters. But below, we take it a step further. Why it is actually critical for organizations, especially today, and what outcomes you can expect from systematic foresight activity.