Strategic Foresight at UNEP
To better navigate current and future uncertainty and disruptive change in line with the UN 2.0 Quintet of Change, UNEP is advancing its strategic foresight and futures-thinking work, putting in place an institutionalized approach to strategic foresight and horizon scanning to provide real-time monitoring of emerging signals of change that could have implications for the environment and our future workstreams.
The foresight process will include a scenario building exercise and an exploratory scanning of signals largely derived through digital surveys. This will be followed by structured sensemaking sessions with experts to interpret, analyse and cluster the emerging signals and their potential for disruptive change, with a view to inform the identification of specific areas for action.
Considering the importance of embedding regional perspectives in UNEPs strategic foresight framework, regional workshops will be held to support the contextualization of the results and ensure that social-cultural and regional contexts are captured.
The first phase of this process will culminate in the delivery of a biennial Global Foresight Report which is expected to be published in July 2024 at the High Level Political Forum ahead of the Summit of the Future in September 2024.
Key Partners
UNEP has teamed up with the International Science Council (ISC) and a number of regional partners to deliver on its ambition to establish a strategic foresight framework and shift from a reactive to a proactive approach to tackling future shocks.
