Strategic foresight is not about predictions of the future. In a complex and uncertain world accurate prediction is a fiction. Strategic foresight instead, is about being prepared for different futures that are all possible, plausible and preferred.

Strategic foresight calls for detailed and systematic analysis of driving forces and trends of change before the development of strategies or plans. Strategic foresight is aimed at finding solutions and responses that are likely to best suit the (evolving) mission and/or organization. Strategic foresight activities enable better preparedness, because they generate explicit, contestable and flexible sense of the future and in so doing, makes it possible to identify and test assumptions we have about our current environment.

Strategic foresight provides insight about the meaning of possible futures which enables organizations to capitalize on opportunities and develop new business strategies that emerge from understanding those opportunities.

Visit the MAX page for Foresight* for additional information.

For more information on the OPM Foresight Program or assistance with the application of foresight methods to your specific challenge, please contact us at OPMForesight@opm.gov.

Foresight Guidebook

* MAX access requires a .gov or .mil email account.