School of International Futures (SOIF)

The UN #SummitoftheFuture and the Wellbeing of Current and Future Generations present a powerful framing and a once-in-a-generation opportunity that is inspiring hope, energy and agency. The Declaration on Future Generations (DFG), due to be adopted at the Summit, signals widespread recognition that short-term crisis management is insufficient to address today’s challenges. It invites governments and multilateral organisations to instead prioritise long-term thinking in policy and planning. But how do we turn this ambition into concrete action and impact? ✨📘 So today, SOIF is launching the Implementation Handbook for the UN Declaration on Future Generations! 📘✨ There are many innovators around the world who are already making visible changes in governing for the long term. We've drawn on research and interviews with hundreds of changemakers across more than 50 countries to produce an Implementation Handbook, outlining a practical roadmap for national-level champions—policymakers and civil society—to embed intergenerational fairness and long-term governance principles into their national strategies. Read and share the Handbook today: https://bit.ly/47zCiSK United Nations The Office of the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales Cat Tully Sophie Howe Andrew Jackson Fátima Fernández Fernández Caroline Star Peter Glenday Felipe Bosch Claudette Salinas Leyva Diyana (Ishak) West Nancy Muigei #futuregenerations #intergenerationalfairness #globalgoals #OurCommonFuture #innovation #longtermgovernance #policy #ActNow

How do we create hopeful, long-term futures in a world that feels increasingly uncertain? SOIF MD Cat Zuzarte Tully explores this challenge in her upcoming book, Playing with Time. She reflects on how futures thinking–shaped by her own experiences and insights from changemakers and innovators worldwide–can help us steward transformation by being inspired by the future and take bold action in the face of complexity. Cat writes: “Today, we stand at a tipping point. With the adoption of the UN Declaration on Future Generations and a world grappling with polycrisis, the need for unified, long-term stewardship has never been more urgent. Yet, this movement remains fragmented and vulnerable to co-option by entrenched interests. These ideas and practices could be misused for superficial 'future-washing' rather than true transformation. But this critical moment calls for action and I take this risk with purpose – inviting each of you to apply these tools with integrity and intention.” She introduces futures-inspired transformative stewardship, a practical approach designed to help communities navigate uncertainty and build the capacity to create hopeful, long-term futures. Read a preview of this practice on the SOIF blog: https://bit.ly/4asxX5b #foresight #futures #longtermgovernance #summitofthefuture #uncertainty

My publication has been released! So proud of my work to develop and pilot the OECD Strategic Foresight Toolkit! Co-authored by the super sharp Dexter Docherty and supported by others in the OECD - OCDE Strategic Foresight Unit, this is a key resource for anyone wanting to stress test their policies against future possibilities. 🔮There is no data about the future. What we do know for certain is that the future will be different in surprising ways. It is the responsibility of governments and other stakeholders to prepare for a full range of possibilities. 🌍🔬 What’s inside? This toolkit explores 25 potential disruptions across environmental, technological, economic, social, and geopolitical domains, helping governments and organisations anticipate change and prepare for multiple futures. Each disruption includes: ✅ Emerging evidence – Early signals that suggest the disruption is plausible ✅ Possible future impacts – How policies, economies, and societies might change ✅ Policy options for the future – What governments could do if these disruptions materialise ✅ Policy actions today – Steps to enhance preparedness and resilience 🛠️ The toolkit also offers: ✅ A five-step foresight process to challenge assumptions, create scenarios, and stress-test strategies ✅ Practical facilitation guides for implementation ✅ Insights into emerging trends and policy options for resilience ✅ A strategic, evidence-based approach to future-proofing public policy I was privileged and honoured to pilot this toolkit with government teams from New Zealand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Lithuania and Canada and I can assure you that the methodology really works. This work was supported by so many others, including the government teams who worked with us to pilot and refine the toolkit, many foresight leaders who provided feedback along the way and my colleagues from the OECD Strategic Foresight Unit including Rafał Kierzenkowski , Hamish Hobbs , Laura Camila Castillo Gutiérrez , Hilary Landfried , Alanna Markle , Duncan Cass-Beggs and Niamh Higgins-Lavery. 🔗 Check it out here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eQiSy74n

We are thrilled to announce that Dr. Thomas Pogge, President of ASAP, has been awarded the esteemed Office of Health Economics (OHE) Innovation Policy Prize for 2024. This recognition highlights the importance of innovative thinking at the intersection of health, environment, and global justice. Dr. Pogge's winning entry, "Averting Pollution-Caused Harm in Lower-Income Countries: An Ecological Impact Fund," addresses the critical nexus between climate change and health. His proposal outlines a novel approach to incentivize environmentally sustainable innovation in the life sciences sector, with a particular focus on lower-income countries. Key points of Dr. Pogge's winning proposal: - Addresses the interconnection between climate change and global health - Focuses on sustainable innovation in lower-income countries - Proposes an Ecological Impact Fund to drive positive change The Award Ceremony will be held today in London and Dr. Pogge will have the opportunity to present his solution to an audience of global health experts, policymakers, and industry leaders. We at ASAP are immensely proud of Professor Pogge's achievement and his continued dedication to addressing global challenges. His work not only contributes to academic discourse but also has the potential to create real-world impact in improving health outcomes and environmental sustainability in lower-income countries. Join us in congratulating Dr. Thomas Pogge on this well-deserved recognition! #OHEPrize #InnovationPolicy #GlobalHealth #ClimateAction #SustainableDevelopment #ASAPGlobal

To fortify us in 2025 and beyond, I'm sharing some reasons for hope. Many are examples of dynamic ways to practice democracy better and to think about how we design systems and use resources for the common good. I've listed a number of my favorite governance innovations from the US and farther afield, inspiring practitioners, thinkers, organizations and networks to watch and join, and media feeds to help you lose yourself in rabbit holes of possibility. Please check them all out and make sure not to give in to despair. Collectively, we still have power to make the world better and that we must do. https://lnkd.in/e_DEpQUb #betterfutures #betterfuturesproject #democracy #governance #innovation #strategicforesight #futuregenerations #civicassemblies #participatorybudgeting #democracyvouchers #futuredesign #wellbeingeconomies #UNSummitoftheFuture Aditi Juneja Cat Zuzarte Tully Gideon Lichfield Robert Ricigliano Julia Roig Amanda Janoo Jayne Engle Democracy 2076 Wellbeing Economy Alliance - WEAll Futurific Future Caucus Layla Zaidane Dark Matter Labs Our Children's Trust Next Generation Foresight Practitioners School of International Futures (SOIF) Ari Wallach A Brief History of the Future Wendy Feliz Liz Ruedy Tom Glaisyer Marjan Horst Ehsassi Rahmin Sarabi Claudia Chwalisz Philip Lindsay Shari Davis Rahel Mekdim Teka Participatory Budgeting Project Sophie Howe Next City Reasons to be Cheerful The Progress Network Mike Berkowitz Emily Thielmann Maya Ingram Hollie Russon Gilman, Ph.D. Hillary Hooke Lisa Kay Solomon Jessica Clark Cynthia Selin

What can indigenous rulers teach us about long-term governance? At the Pre-Summit National Consultation in Yaoundé, SOIF MD Cat Zuzarte Tully was honoured as a Peace and Life Ambassador by Cameroon’s traditional rulers (Fons). Nsah Mala PhD, a Next Generation Foresight Practitioners Fellow, was elevated to the title of Nkfem Ntumfoyn, in recognition of his contributions to development, foresight and future generations. Fons show how governance can respect cultural heritage by integrating indigenous knowledge with innovation to tackle today’s pressing challenges and strengthen systems for the long term. With the UN Summit of the Future offering a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rethink development, this commitment to long-term governance provides an inspiring model for systemic change. Explore five lessons on bridging tradition with modern governance here: https://bit.ly/4g6gIry #longtermgovernance #foresight #futuregenerations #indigenousknowledge #summitofthefuture

My #2025 #Week2 Update #networkexperiment #appreciatinginformalexchange #thepowerofongoingconnection #makingtheinvisiblevisible This week's update is a little different since it was a book-writing week... Not wholly successfully, given the challenges of actually making the time to do what is important but not urgent... AND the particular difficulty of tuning out the ramifications of decisions emerging from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW DC, despite my best intentions. Most conversations were focused on shaping my upcoming blog/essay series, that build on the responses to the preview of my book, "Playing with Time" https://lnkd.in/eUeVKckr. The blog series continues the conversation with very diverse people in the community who kindly offered wide-ranging comments. The first essay comes out next week, and each week will address the 9 themes and questions that emerged. 1. Help me understand this broad issue as a non-expert - or indeed someone who has never come across the field of foresight.  What do terms like "futures" or "intergenerational fairness” or “future generations” mean - and why did you settle on “Future-Inspired Transformative Stewardship”?  How are they connected and why are they so relevant today?   2. What can we learn from Wales?  The Wales Well-being of Future Generations Act offers a fascinating case study.  What are the broader insights from its implementation, and what lessons can we draw from this and other countries? 3. What is the Declaration on Future Generations #DFG, & what happened at the Summit of the Future #SOTF?  4. What is SOIF planning for 2025 & beyond?  5. Who is the wider community engaging in this work?  6. What does this mean for me as an individual?  7. What does this mean for the organisation I work in?  8. What’s the generational vision for this movement for change?  9. Answering specific questions about practice, techniques & themes 💟 Sophie Howe, 1st Future Gens Commissioner in Wales for always being inspiring, reminding me of what is important, and the best collaborator possible for scaling up #LTG 💟 Jane Davidson for sharing her unique perspective about the #Wales #FGA and being the best examplar of #politicalsteward the #21stC needs 💟 Abi Nokes for being a great thought partner in exploring how to ensure the words reflect the #practice of #networkweaving 💟 Josh Polchar Lisa G. Jane Taylor Rahman for exploring how to connect childrens' views on #IGF to civil servants 💟 Bernard Jenkin for championing #UK #NationalStrategy 💟 Mehdi Danesh & Dr. Noah Raford for #UAE #environmental collaboration Thank you for inspiring me - & being so generous with your time & insights as we share, explore & build together! Look out for the first blog next week! School of International Futures (SOIF) Next Generation Foresight Practitioners Prateeksha S. Raya Bidshahri Paula Jimeno Fraca Pupul Bisht Melissa Ingaruca Moreno Ammaarah Nilafdeen Betty Sue Flowers

Claudette Salinas Leyva and I have co written this piece on how philanthropy and help implement new future generations approaches in countries across the world following the UN Declaration on Future Generations. The big message from us is that it takes deep support in country building civil society movements support system capability and political champions - moving from short termism to long termism is indeed a long and complex process

"The Future Generations Declaration provides a new hook for the reforms we all want to see. But we also need to make sure that we are focused on genuine implementation over superficial compliance to drive transformation." Sophie Howe is Futures and Wellbeing Adviser to governments, NGOs and corporates and was the first Future Generations Commissioner for Wales. In her article with Claudette Salinas Leyva (School of International Futures (SOIF)) for the current New Economy edition of Alliance magazine, she reflects on protecting the interests of future generations and of the planet, and the future-focused approaches of Wales and the UN. Safeguarding the future for generations to come involves rethinking attitudes to people, planet, and fundamentally, to economics. What can philanthropy do to help? 🌱 Embed long-term thinking, building an appetite for longer term, less immediately visible outcomes, not only shorter term outputs 🗺️ Guard against the performative and pursue transformative, whole system implementations 🌄 Focus on solutions that meet today’s needs, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs What examples of future gen thinking and practice are you inspired by? https://lnkd.in/dJiUSZvF #FutureGenerations #WellBeing #NewEconomics #Philanthropy

📣 Join us Wednesday, January 29 for an opportunity to hear Donna Dupont of Purple Compass Canada, author of Lessons and learning in foresight use for international organizations, share key findings and reflections from the report. To accommodate different time zones, we will host the event at 830-9:30 am EST and 12:00 to 1:00 pm EST, with different speakers joining Donna for each session. Register for 8:30 to 930 am EST: https://bit.ly/4jmMJOP Register for 12:00 to 1:00 pm EST: https://bit.ly/42gQCi7 Working with IDRC, Donna Dupont has pulled together a range of experiences, perspectives, and approaches to using foresight from interviews conducted with individuals from peer international research, research-funding and global development cooperation organizations. Findings based on themes of use, value and practice are presented for funding organizations, international organizations and government, and academia. The study surfaces a broad set of lessons learned in applying #StrategicForesight, a wish list of what foresight could look like for organizations across four key themes, and a selection of use cases. Read the report: https://bit.ly/4fm9M9d #InternationalDevelopment #Research4Development #AnticipatoryGovernance