Curriculum Overview

Leading and Learning through Futures & Foresight for Public Service

Our Leading from the Future program curriculum is designed to address the unique goals and objectives of managers and executives within the U.S. Federal Government through a structured approach to strategic foresight concepts and methodology. Our curriculum complements existing strategic planning and decision-making concepts to look beyond current budget cycles to maximize opportunities for succession planning and build toward preferred futures.

Built in cooperation with our world-renown Foresight Scholars, our foundational curriculum is designed to provide a complete immersion within strategic foresight. Each course is designed to maximize opportunities for experiential learning opportunities including realistic case studies, group exercises, simulations, and scenarios.

With your flexibility in mind, our curriculum is fully customizable to fit your needs. Our program may be delivered through traditional classroom training or utilize a hybrid approach with virtual sessions and assignments on our Learning Experience Platform (LXP). We also offer mentorship opportunities with our Foresight Scholars.

Our program is built around four main concepts; anticipating, decision-making, strategic planning, and evaluation. Within these concepts, we’ve identified eight course topics to be completed in sequential order, but may also be customized to meet the specific needs of agencies and organizations within the public sector.

ANTICIPATING

DECISION-MAKING

STRATEGIC PLANNING

EVALUATION

INTRODUCTION TO STRATEGIC FORESIGHT (DM AND A)

• Understanding the basic concepts of strategic foresight
• Identifying the key drivers of change and their impact on the future
• Examining the role of foresight in decision-making

ANALYZING TRENDS AND SIGNALS (A)

• Identifying and analyzing trends, signals, and weak signals
• Improving data collection and analysis skills
• Understanding the difference between trend analysis and forecasting

SCENARIO PLANNING (SP AND A)

• Developing scenarios and narratives that explore plausible futures
• Understanding the benefits of scenario planning for decision-making
• Learning how to effectively communicate and use scenarios in decision-making

SYSTEMS THINKING (A)

• Developing a systems thinking approach to strategic foresight
• Understanding how different elements of a system interact and impact each other
• Applying systems thinking to complex challenges

RISK ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT (DM)

• Identifying and assessing risks and uncertainties
• Understanding the difference between risk management and risk avoidance
• Developing risk management strategies

FUTURES THINKING IN POLICY DEVELOPMENT (DM)

• Understanding the role of futures thinking in policy development
• Exploring how foresight can be integrated into policy-making processes
• Analyzing case studies of futures thinking in policy development

COMMUNICATING FORESIGHT (DM AND A)

• Developing effective communication strategies for foresight
• Understanding how to communicate foresight to stakeholders
• Examining the impact of effective communication on foresight adoption and implementation

IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION (DM AND E)

• Developing implementation plans for foresight
• Understanding the importance of monitoring and evaluation in foresight
• Learning how to adjust and adapt foresight strategies as needed