Building global foresight capability

Challenge

We are living in a rapidly changing and increasingly complex and uncertain world.

The United Nations wanted to better equip country teams, agencies and the Resident Coordinator System, supporting the Resident Coordinators and representatives at the country level, to be resilient, prepared and innovative.  They asked SOIF to help build capability in strategic foresight to empower the team to generate radically different future visions to spark hope and drive action.

Approach

We designed and delivered a programme of learning, two blended learning courses focused on foresight for systems change, together with a series of futures masterclasses. The programme trained 300+ learners from across the UN system, helping to establish a community of practice over 18 months. The approach supported participants to build practical skills with a focus on hands-on experimentation and capability building.

The learning experience was centred around participants’ own foresight experiments, which made it immediately relevant and resulted in faster learning. Participants had the opportunity to bring their real-life challenges to clinics and access support and advice from the SOIF team. Peer-to-peer knowledge sharing built a collaborative culture and ensured ongoing encouragement and support for using foresight. 

Outcome

Through the project we helped UNGP and UNDOCO invest in and build their foresight capacity. It provided novel materials, resources and learning materials that are supporting ongoing capacity building.

It brought together the community catalysing their network and building connection, generating excitement among participants. It enabled learners to identify opportunities for using foresight in their everyday roles, get hands-on practice using foresight tools and understand how to drive systems transformation.  

The programme resulted in participants completing more than 15 experiments involving 10 innovation and technology partners and testing 24 different methods and tools in a practical setting.  More than 70% of participants said that they would use foresight as part of their daily work in future.

“We have managed to scale the impact and prime foresight experimentation partners faster”

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