An Overview of Foresight Methodologies

"(...) Foresight is "a university human capacity which allows people to think ahead and consider, model, create and respond to, future eventualities? (Foresight International, 2006). Foresight is, however, usually an unconscious thinking process - we all think about the future, but often do not recognise that we are engaging in foresight. In an organisational context, foresight is not necessarily recognised or universal, and overt processes generally need to be put in place, supported by specific methodologies, in order to develop an organisational capacity for foresight. Methodology is "an operational framework within which?data are placed so that their meaning may be seen more clearly? (Leedy, 1997: 204). Foresight methodologies then, may be viewed as frameworks for making sense of data generated by structured processes to think about the future. In organisations, foresight methodologies have a particular role in the strategy development process. Foresight informs the thinking that occurs before strategic decisions are made by expanding the perceptions of the strategic options or choices available to the organisation. (...)"