A new report from the Institute for Security Studies explores the rationale and importance of systematic trend analysis and scenario planning to inform policy decisions in the context of recent and future trends in Africa.
Quantitative integrated forecasting is explored as a method for exploring multiple, inter-related trends and to develop evidence-based assessments for Africa and its component countries. The report highlights the importance for systematic analysis of the future in policy in Africa due to the need to explore the impact of decisions on multiple, inter-connected trends within a resource- constrained environment.
The lack of available and reliable data in sub-Saharan Africa is seen as a current barrier to quantitative forecasting, although these challenges are largely systemic and political. To counter this the report makes various recommendations for raising awareness and the profile of foresight data in decision making