National Foresight Network
The world is going through a rapid change. The ongoing transformation of the global economy, the fast pace of technological development and changes in the everyday lives of common people are setting a demand for the Finnish society to renew itself. In order to balance the uncertainty of the rapid change, the significance of anticipating future trends and patters for making decisions and policies is constantly increasing.
The National Foresight Network brings together Finnish foresight experts and decision-makers. The challenges that Finland faces are taken under discussion and subjected to closer examination, promoting innovation activities that provide the necessary answers to the challenges. The goal of the cooperation is to promote the long-term perspective in Finnish decision-making and to improve the society’s ability for a controlled structural renewal.
The project topics of the National Foresight Network
The National Foresight Network has two primary modes of operation:
- subject matter experts and policymakers gather together in thematic groups to identify and closely examine change drivers that are relevant for Finland
- the Foresight.fi website, launched in December 2008, aggregates together foresight insights and relevant information from Finland and abroad
In 2006, the topics covered in the thematic groups were
- welfare and everyday life
- the future of working life
- the public sector
- multiculturalism
- the environmental questions.
The themes in 2007 were
- innovation activities and policies
- the environment and energy.
The topics for 2008 were
- the Internet and new forms of interaction
- the future of business activities
- mental health and intellectual capital
- learning and education
- the role and tasks of the public sector.
In addition an expert group was assembled to continue mapping changes in the well-being of Finnish citizens.
Theme groups
Leading Finnish foresight experts, decision-makers from the public and private sectors, representatives from the research community, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are invited to join the thematic groups. The groups define the focus areas for their work in the first workshop. After defining the scope, the focus areas are discussed and scrutinized in dedicated workshops.
The workshop approach and the cooperation of a versatile team enable new innovative perspectives. In this way, it is possible to identify uncertain development trends and weak signals as well as to outline their effects in the society. The workshop process also enables shared understanding and networking, linking people from various sectors together.
The workshops draw up a summary of their work, which defines the key challenges and opportunities as well as identifies practical measures to answer them. The Foresight.fi website makes the results available to all interested parties. In addition, the results are communicated directly to the relevant decision-makers.
On the basis of the workshop results, Sitra may also launch further research activities, organise new workshops or strategy processes with key stakeholders or initiate the preparation of future programme ideas. In this way, the National Foresight Network intermediates between foresight professionals and Finnish decision-makers.