What is strategic foresight? Strategic foresight is a systematic and collaborative way of analysing different possible futures. In the Commission, we use it to take smarter, future-oriented policy decisions: we look at possible developments that could affect EU policies, through knowledge and imagination.Foresight plays a key role in managing change by helping to map, understand, anticipate and ultimately influence change. Futures cone depicting the four main classes of futures: possible, plausible, probable, and preferable Foresight is not crystal ball that allows us to predict the future. Rather foresight provides a set of tools and methods for exploring the future, so we are more comfortable with the uncertainty of the future and able to adapt t it. Why use foresight in policymaking? Strategic foresight equips European leaders and policymakers with a structured framework to transform insights about the future into actionable knowledge. It provides a safe space to gather collective intelligence, exchange ideas, come up with alternative scenarios and new insights for policymaking. Based on these thought-provoking exercises, as the Commission, we are better equipped to make decisions aligned with Europe’s political priorities, that respect the interests of present and future generations and help prepare for possible future crises.Strategic foresight applies across all policies and the entire policymaking cycle, from identifying emerging issues to evaluating impact. Supporting the principles of Better Regulation, strategic foresight can ensure that policy decisions are well informed on long-term possibilities, allowing them to stand the test of time.Competence Centre on Foresight EU Policy Lab TheEU Policy Lab is a space for cross-disciplinary exploration and innovation in policymaking. In the laboratory, we apply collaborative, systemic and forward-looking approaches to help bringing the scientific knowledge of the JRC into EU policymaking. We experiment with the new, the unprecedented and the unknown. We seek to augment our understanding of the present, challenge and reinvent the way we think about the future. The EU Policy Lab is a mindset and a way of working together that combines stories and data, anticipation and analysis, imagination and action. We bring new practical and radicalperspectives to tackle complex problems in a collaborative way. Together, we explore, connect and ideate to create better policies.EU Policy Lab Thematic areas Technology foresightAnticipating emerging technologies and their potential impactsFuture risksIntegrating foresight methods into risk assessmentSustainability transitionsIncreasing understanding of the systemic and long-term aspects of sustainability How do we do foresight?Horizon scanningDetecting and analysing the emerging ‘game changers’ that could impact society and policymaking in the futureMegatrends analysisLong-term driving forces that are observable now and will most likely have significant influence on the futureFuture scenariosPlausible versions of the future providing a forward-looking framework for use in policymakingFutures literacy Learning how to prepare and plan for, as well as interact with different futuresScenario Exploration System (SES)Teaching and simulation tool to experience your possible paths towards the future, in relation to a certain topic.Other foresight toolsTools for organising participative processes that support decision-making, explore systemic topics and encourage long-term thinking. Flagship reports Strategic Foresight ReportsThe European Commission regularly produces Strategic Foresight Report, which inform the Commission Work Programmes and multi-annual programming exercises. Find out more about the Strategic Foresight Report Risks on the Horizon This study presents a foresight approach to increase preparedness for unexpected developments and the risks they could create.Download the Risks on the Horizon reportFUTURINNOVThis project supports the European Innovation Council (EIC) in building strategic intelligence capacity through foresight and other anticipatory approaches.Discover all the FUTURINNOV reportsDigital transition: Long-term implications for EU farmers and rural communitiesThis foresight exercise explores the interplay between digital transition, policies and the resilience of the agricultural sector and rural areas, against the backdrop of potential disruptive and transformative changes. Download the report and explore the engagement tool Other foresight resourcesStrategic Foresight in the European CommissionEuropean Strategy and Policy Analysis System (ESPAS)
Strategic foresight equips European leaders and policymakers with a structured framework to transform insights about the future into actionable knowledge. It provides a safe space to gather collective intelligence, exchange ideas, come up with alternative scenarios and new insights for policymaking. Based on these thought-provoking exercises, as the Commission, we are better equipped to make decisions aligned with Europe’s political priorities, that respect the interests of present and future generations and help prepare for possible future crises.Strategic foresight applies across all policies and the entire policymaking cycle, from identifying emerging issues to evaluating impact. Supporting the principles of Better Regulation, strategic foresight can ensure that policy decisions are well informed on long-term possibilities, allowing them to stand the test of time.Competence Centre on Foresight
TheEU Policy Lab is a space for cross-disciplinary exploration and innovation in policymaking. In the laboratory, we apply collaborative, systemic and forward-looking approaches to help bringing the scientific knowledge of the JRC into EU policymaking. We experiment with the new, the unprecedented and the unknown. We seek to augment our understanding of the present, challenge and reinvent the way we think about the future. The EU Policy Lab is a mindset and a way of working together that combines stories and data, anticipation and analysis, imagination and action. We bring new practical and radicalperspectives to tackle complex problems in a collaborative way. Together, we explore, connect and ideate to create better policies.EU Policy Lab
Horizon scanningDetecting and analysing the emerging ‘game changers’ that could impact society and policymaking in the future
Megatrends analysisLong-term driving forces that are observable now and will most likely have significant influence on the future
Future scenariosPlausible versions of the future providing a forward-looking framework for use in policymaking
Scenario Exploration System (SES)Teaching and simulation tool to experience your possible paths towards the future, in relation to a certain topic.
Other foresight toolsTools for organising participative processes that support decision-making, explore systemic topics and encourage long-term thinking.
