Imagine being able to derive plausible scenarios for the future and using that knowledge to help you make decisions today that can influence the future you want for your organization, your industry, and even your country.

Models exist that can help you do just that and at this workshop you will learn about tools and methods you can use to help you identify future scenarios, analyze the impacts of those futures, and better enable you to prepare and make appropriate decisions today.

During this three-day training workshop, Dr. Peter Bishop will lead you through a program based on the Certificate in Strategic Foresight offered by the University of Houston, where he was the former director of the Master’s degree in Foresight.

During this workshop you will:

  • Explore the field of strategic foresight.
  • Learn the methods most commonly used to facilitate this process.
  • Gain knowledge of the major practitioners and published works in the field today.
  • Develop skills in systems thinking, analyzing and explaining change.
  • Learn how to forecast long-term futures and develop scenarios.
  • Learn how to identify implications and strategic issues.

A balanced approach of presentations, discussions and the practical application of strategic foresight methods will be used throughout the workshop.

About the Facilitator

Dr. Peter Bishop is a distinguished foresight professional with extensive experience in teaching and consulting in the field. He has run a number of versions of this program for several sections of the US Defence Intelligence Agency as well as Health Canada and Policy Horizons Canada. Together with Dr. Andy Hines, Dr. Bishop has recently published a textbook on the field, Teaching about the Future: The Basics of Foresight Education.

Dr. Peter Bishop

Agenda

8:00 a.m.
Registration and Refreshments
8:30 a.m.
Welcoming Remarks and Introduction
8:45 a.m.
  • Rationale for foresight at this time in history
  • How foresight differs from traditional forecasting
  • The overall parts
10:15 a.m.
Break
10:30 a.m.
  • Domain definition, time horizon, geography
  • Current conditions: variables, stakeholders, conditions
  • Era analysis
12:00 p.m.
Lunch
1:00 p.m.
  • Gathering the data
3:15 p.m.
Break
3:30 p.m.
  • The epistemology of forecasting—evidence—ssumptions
4:30 p.m.
Adjournment
8:00 a.m.
Continental Breakfast Available
8:30 a.m.
Review of Previous Day’s Work
8:45 a.m.
  • Constants, trends, plans and projections
  • A futures wheel of the implications for one important change in the baseline
9:40 a.m.
Break
9:50 a.m.
  • Uncertainty and the role of assumptions
10:50 a.m.
Break
11:00 a.m.

The transition from the Expected Future to Alternative Futures is based on successfully challenging the assumptions required by the Expected Future based on a plausible foundation for one or more Alternative Assumptions and on the possibility that weak signals grow up to become strong signals that change the future.

12:00 p.m.
Lunch
1:00 p.m.
  • Using uncertainties to develop a different scenario for the future
2:30 p.m.
Break
2:45 p.m.
  • Presentation modes
  • Develop a presentation of the scenario
4:30 p.m.
Adjournment
8:00 a.m.
Continental Breakfast Available
8:30 a.m.
Review of Previous Day’s Work
8:45 a.m.

Scenarios are fine, but what are we to do with them? This process identifies the implications of key scenarios.

9:30 a.m.
Break
9:45 a.m.

The second step is to develop a list of issues arising from the expected and the alternative future previously developed.

11:30 a.m.
Lunch
12:15 p.m.
  • Leadership, Vision, Planning and Change Management.
2:45 p.m.
Break
3:30 p.m.
  • A method for assessing the quality of foresight processes
4:30 p.m.
Final Wrap-up and Questions
4:45 p.m.
Adjournment

What participants are saying about the Strategic Foresight Workshop

“As we were reminded in the workshop, one can’t safely drive a car using only the rear view mirror. In a business environment that feels like it is evolving at warp speed, it’s so important to look out for what may be ahead. As I don’t have the luxury of a crystal ball, it was fantastic to learn a simple yet effective approach to gaining a broader view of the future. I highly recommend this program to anyone who has to either make or support decisions about the future.”

Catherine Taylor, Kinross Gold Corporation

“The Strategic Foresight Workshop blended the best of theory and experiential training for risk professionals. Even though the methods used in the workshop are quite common, it is how they are combined together that gives you the best results.”

Christine Maligec, Covenant Health

Register

Continental breakfast, lunch and refreshments will be provided during the workshop. Please note, this event is limited to 24 people to maintain an intimate forum for learning and discussion.

October 29–31, 2019

March 3–5, 2020