“Using the Future: Contributions to the Field of Foresight”. A Review

Review of the report “Using the Future: Contributions to the Field of Foresight”, published by the Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies (CIFS) — tailored to your deep interest in Futures Literacy and applied foresight in community and cooperative contexts

The report Using the Future explores how organisations can become “future-ready” — that is, not merely predicting the future but making future-conscious decisions as part of their strategic culture. It compiles reflections and contributions from a diverse group of futurists, foresight practitioners, and corporate strategists (including Joanna Lepore and Simon Fuglsang Østergaard).

Rather than being a technical manual, it reads as a collection of perspectives and prototypes on how foresight is currently being used — and how it might evolve into a more embedded organisational capability.

 Key Themes and Concepts

1. Future-Conscious Decision-Making

The report reframes foresight as more than scenario planning. It’s about shaping mindsets and structures that continuously integrate the long view into everyday decisions — turning the “use of the future” into a cognitive and cultural practice.

2. The Business of Foresight

One of the strongest sections examines how foresight operates within corporate environments — addressing issues like ROI, strategic relevance, and leadership engagement. It shows how foresight can move from peripheral “innovation exercises” to a core strategic asset.

3. Prototyping and Experimental Methods

Simon Østergaard introduces a “prototype stage” framework — an evolving methodology that makes foresight more accessible through participatory tools, provocations, and learning-by-doing. This experimental angle reflects CIFS’s continued effort to keep foresight practical and evolving.

4. Stories and Reflections from Practitioners

Rather than theory-heavy chapters, the report presents narrative insights — personal accounts and lessons learned from foresight implementation across different sectors. These vignettes highlight both success factors and recurring obstacles (such as internal resistance and the challenge of proving tangible value).

 

Contributions to the Field of Foresight

1. From Forecasting to Foresight Culture

The report’s most significant contribution is its shift from anticipating the future to using it — embedding futures thinking into decision-making systems, leadership language, and organisational culture. This aligns strongly with UNESCO’s Futures Literacy framework.

 2. Bridging Theory and Practice

It succeeds in showing foresight as a living, adaptive discipline — equally relevant to business, government, and education. The emphasis on practical “how-to” reflections bridges a gap often seen between academic futures research and corporate strategy.

3. Innovation in Foresight Methodology

By treating foresight as something that can be prototyped, CIFS adds a refreshing experimental layer to the field. This opens pathways for local adaptation and creativity, especially useful for contexts like cooperatives, NGOs, and small enterprises.

4. Expanding the Discourse on Value

The inclusion of the “business of foresight” reframes foresight from being an abstract intellectual pursuit to a value-creating process — capable of influencing investment, design, and organisational transformation.

 Strengths

Accessible yet profound: Written in an approachable tone while retaining conceptual depth.

Practical focus: Real-world examples make foresight tangible beyond academia.

Interdisciplinary insight: Combines corporate strategy, psychology, systems thinking, and futures studies.

Mindset emphasis: Prioritises cultural and behavioural change — not just tools or methods.

 

 Limitations and Areas for Further Development

Limited empirical grounding: The report relies on reflective essays rather than quantitative or case-study-based evidence.

Corporate bias: The business-centric framing may feel distant to public-sector, cooperative, or community audiences.

Western orientation: Cultural assumptions and language are Eurocentric — adaptation would be needed for Southeast Asian or Islamic contexts.

Prototype maturity: Some of the proposed models are still experimental and need further field testing.

 Implications and Applications

For practitioners like you — who work at the intersection of foresight, community development, and cooperative enterprise — the report offers several actionable takeaways:

1. Embedding Futures Literacy in Local Organisations:

You can adapt the “future-conscious decision” framework for cooperatives or NGOs — training teams to treat the future as an active learning partner.

2. Localising the Business of Foresight:

Translate corporate foresight concepts (ROI, strategic alignment, anticipation capability) into social or cooperative ROI — measuring long-term impact rather than profit.

3. Prototype and Learn:

Experiment with CIFS’s “prototype” mindset — design small foresight interventions (community dialogues, visual provocations, story-based scenarios) and refine them through iteration.

4. Bridge Tradition and Futures:

In your Wali Songo or Pulau Besar projects, the CIFS framework could inspire a chapter on “Future-Ready Heritage” — showing how cultural wisdom can inform modern futures thinking.

 Conclusion

Using the Future is not merely a report — it’s a call to evolve foresight into everyday practice. It shifts attention from predicting “what will happen” to empowering organisations and societies to “use the future” to shape the present.

For anyone working to cultivate futures literacy — especially in community, educational, or cooperative settings — this report provides both inspiration and structure. It reminds us that the real future is not something we wait for; it’s something we build through conscious, collective imagination.