Mastering Strategic Foresight

Building Long-Term Success in a Changing World

What you'll learn

Understand the core concepts and mindset of strategic foresight.

Identify and analyze signals, trends, and drivers of change.

Develop future scenarios using foresight tools and frameworks.

Create actionable strategies through backcasting and visioning.

Requirements

no prerequisites

Description

In a world of rapid change and uncertainty, traditional planning is no longer enough. This course equips you with the tools, mindset, and methods of strategic foresight to anticipate disruptions, explore future possibilities, and shape the outcomes you want. Through real-world case studies, interactive exercises, and a hands-on capstone project, you’ll learn to scan the horizon, build scenarios, and create actionable strategies that drive long-term impact. Whether you're leading a government agency, business unit, or community initiative, this course will help you think beyond the now—and lead with confidence into the future.You’ll gain practical experience with powerful foresight tools like horizon scanning, trend analysis, scenario development, and backcasting. You’ll also explore the social, technological, economic, environmental, and political forces shaping our world—and how to respond strategically to them.This course is ideal for professionals who want to move from reactive thinking to proactive leadership. You’ll develop a future-ready mindset, engage in collaborative foresight practices, and apply your learning to a challenge that matters to you.By the end of the course, you’ll be able to design inclusive, adaptable, and resilient strategies that are grounded in insight—and built to thrive in complexity. The future is not something to predict. It’s something to shape—starting now.

Overview

Section 1: Introduction

Lecture 1 Introduction

Lecture 2 Welcome

Lecture 3 Course Overview

Section 2: Laying the Foundations

Lecture 4 The Future

Lecture 5 Time Horizons

Lecture 6 Futures Cone

Section 3: Futurist Mindset

Lecture 7 Who Thinks About The Future

Lecture 8 Building The Right Mindset

Section 4: The Foresight Process

Lecture 9 The Process

Section 5: Where Is The Change

Lecture 10 Signals Of Change

Lecture 11 Looking For The Change

Lecture 12 Practice The Scanning

Section 6: Future Scenarios

Lecture 13 Drivers Of Change

Lecture 14 Future Scenarios

Section 7: Foresight In Action

Lecture 15 Backcasting

Section 8: Use Cases

Lecture 16 Use Cases

Section 9: Reflect and Wrap Up

Lecture 17 Reflect

Policy-makers and public sector professionals,Corporate strategy and innovation teams,Urban planners and sustainability experts,Educators and nonprofit leaders,Entrepreneurs and startup founders,Anyone interested in long-term thinking and building future-ready systems