Futuring at Local and Regional Level: A Trendbureau Overijssel Experiment

Trendbureau Overijssel was established in 2007 by the Dutch province of Overijssel to make political decision-making in the region more responsive to the challenges of the future. Trendbureau Overijssel is an independent network organization that works with stakeholders and research institutes to explore the future for local and provincial government, regional businesses and civil society organizations. Its explorations have included studies into local generation of energy, villages and local democracy.
Trendbureau was evaluated at the end of 2010, and the results of this evaluation will be presented during the session. We will also illustrate the methods used by Trendbureau by looking at local and regional impacts of demographic change.
Overijssel in the east of the Netherlands has a population of around 1.1 million. It is a predominantly rural area with five cities facing urban challenges. Demographics will be considerably affected by an aging and declining population. How can local and regional governments anticipate and react to these trends?
Who should attend: Representatives and advisors of local and regional government, scientists and all parties involved in anticipating future trends at a local and regional level. All those interested in the impact of demographic change at a regional, town and village level.
What you'll learn: How can decision-making in the region be made more responsive to future challenges? Which methods work and which do not? How will the demographic effects of an aging and declining population present challenges for policy?
How this new knowledge can be applied: This knowledge can be used by all those involved in identifying and responding to future trends in the political arenas of villages, towns and regions. Analysis of future demographic trends in Overijssel also offers important implications for policy in other parts of the world.
Hans Peter Benschop has been active in implementing strategic projects at national and local government level for fifteen years, and has managed Trendbureau Overijssel since 2007, Apeldoorn, The Netherlands