New Frameworks for New Theories

Developing frameworks for new theories in Futures Studies (FS) has been a field of interest among futurists. They make different efforts in finding new ways to deal with this interest.

One of the reasons for this is an increasing enthusiasm of empowering contemporary FS so that it may be able to solve societies' today and tomorrow problems. It has appeared as a growing need reflected in many futurists' works in recent years.

This is the essence of an article that I've offered at "WorldFuture 2011" and is published in the conference articles volume (The printed copy can be requested from conference organizers.). In this article, I've discussed the need for improving futures thinking by establishing frameworks for new theories in FS. It aims at facilitating the process of developing those new theories and dealing with paradigms; it uses a set of futures knowledge tools as part of a conceptual approach and contributes to empowering contemporary futures thinking in developing frameworks for new theories.

The approach is composed of components which are discussed through four main Causal Layered Analysis (CLA) questions

1. How have different paradigms have been shaped?
2. What has made developing new theories a real need?
3. How can new FS theories can be generated?
4. How futures thinking can be improved by new theories?

The process of developing frameworks for new theories in FS goes through these stages:

1. Understanding the components of this framework (Interacting variables that model a phenomena or problem);
2. Goal setting for the framework (Helping futures thinking practiced in a better way);
3. Going along with main kinds of futures thinking (Definite, Speculative and Visionary futures thinking).

It’s time to go beyond contemporary paradigms. We are in the midst of a fundamental world transformation, with a set of different theories and values systems attempting to define and guide the direction for tomorrow. The future will be greatly influenced by emerging theories and paradigms. Theoretical challenges can play a constructive role through promoting dialogue. What's needed is an ongoing evolution of our understanding of where we are and where we are going. Theories of FS often focus on some particular theme or themes considered of central importance in the nature and organization of future events.

As the issue of developing frameworks for new theories in FS may have other aspects rather than those discussed in this article, more research can be done in the future especially with keeping epistemological and ontological considerations in mind.

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Alireza Hejazi is a freelance futurist. He is the founder and developer of “FuturesDiscovery.com” and the author of e-books: “Futures Discovery”, “ATLAS of futures links”, “Top 10 Cases of Futures Studies Syllabus” and “Writing for the Future”. Hejazi is an MA student of Strategic Foresight at Regent University School of Global Leadership & Entrepreneurship. His recent works are available at: http://www.futuresdiscovery.com.