This is the third of three papers that focus on the how a small country at the bottom of the planet can use futures studies to develop and design a sustainable future. The first two were presented at the WorldFuture conferences in Chicago (2009) and Boston (2010). This final paper presents the results of the Sustainable Future Institute’s future thinking initiative, StrategyNZ: Mapping our Future. The March 2011 event, held in Wellington, New Zealand, is an attempt to create an innovative way of exploring the long-term direction of a country. In doing this, it draws on futures studies, strategy development, and sustainable development to inform and design alternative strategy maps. However, the focus is not only on the design of a variety of long-term strategies, but also on ways of communicating those strategies to the general public to invite wider debate.
Who should attend: Anyone interested in assessing or developing public-good initiatives aimed at exploring the long-term direction of a country. Ideally, attendees may represent individuals or institutions interested in pursuing similar initiatives in countries around the world, such as StrategyAustralia, StrategyUS, StrategyChile, and/or StrategySingapore.
What you’ll learn: How to develop foresight, strategy maps, alternative futures, scenarios, innovative public participatory processes, the preparation of a futures workbook, an e-book by attendees, and much more.
How can this knowledge be applied: This knowledge can be used to (1) show how future thinking tools can be integrated, (2) develop foresight for countries and (3) provide insight into the design, implementation, and assessment of innovative public participatory processes that aim to improve the quality of thinking about the long-term direction of nation-states.
Wendy McGuinness, chief executive, Sustainable Future Institute; New Zealand Chapter chair of the World Future Society; New Zealand Node chair of the Millennium Project; institutional member of the World Futures Studies Federation; member, Association of Professional Futurists. Wellington, New Zealand
Peter Bishop, associate professor, College of Technology; director of the graduate program in Futures Studies at the University of Houston, Clearwater, Texas
key words: foresight, strategy maps, alternative futures, scenarios, innovative public participatory processes, futures workbook, e-book.
issue areas: Governance and Communities, Futures Methodologies, Society and Culture