archived
Estimated reading time 3 min
This post has been archived and may include outdated content

An anticipatory approach is increasingly important during times of crisis

In the middle of the financial crisis, thinking must extend beyond current solutions and a shared will to change things must be looked for. As Finland struggles against a depression, it is more and more vital to outline future solutions and desired scenarios when discerning the success factors of the future. These solutions are also sought by the National Foresight Network at the recently launched online service www.foresight.fi, where citizens also have the opportunity to join in the future dis

Published

In the middle of the financial crisis, thinking must extend beyond current solutions and a shared will to change things must be looked for. As Finland is trying to find ways to fight against a depression, it is more and more vital to outline future solutions and desired scenarios when discerning the success factors of the future. These solutions are also sought by the National Foresight Network at the recently launched online service www.foresight.fi, where citizens also have the opportunity to join in the future discussion.

“The future is made. We all make the future every day with our words and actions. The scenarios become self-implementing forecasts when they start to guide thinking and operations in a collective manner. Besides worst-case scenarios, we also need best-case scenarios that can be upgraded to a shared will to change things,” says foresight.fi blog author Kati Korhonen-Yrjänheikki, Unit Director, Finnish Association of Graduate Engineers (TEK).

As the media report on redundancies, temporary dismissals and the financial downturn, it is increasingly important to look to the future and try to find the methods with which Finnish companies can again succeed.

On the Foresight.fi site, Petri Kalliokoski of the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) supplies visions on the kinds of opportunities the professional applications of the social media could give to Finnish growth companies. Ruurik Holm of Left Forum points out that it is absolutely essential to recover from the financial crisis to ensure that the ecological crisis and global warming, which have been known for many years now, could be prevented with the best means possible.

“In order to find the best possible solutions and to carry out successful foresight activities, it is very important that conscious efforts are made to try to solve the decision-making issues in society and the corporate sector. For these kinds of efforts, it is vital to involve interest groups. In this sense, the social media, such as the foresight.fi site, will play an increasingly clear role in foresight and when searching for extensive social solutions,” says Petri Kalliokoski in his blog.

In addition to the blogs, the Foresight.fi site also contains other future-related material and a monthly theme introduction dealing with foresight. The introductions supply the background for the blog entries and highlight interesting reports. Everyone can comment on the discussions, and the site is intended for experts, decision-makers and citizens.

“Foresight activities points out the factors that we can have an impact on. It highlights the issues that can and should be discussed. The future is not deterministic: you can make a difference,” says Riitta Nieminen-Sundell, Senior Manager in Foresight in Sitra.

Foresight.fi is a project of the National Foresight Network coordinated by Sitra. The network connects Finnish forecasting experts and decision-makers, and its purpose is to, more rapidly than before, highlight the new challenges and opportunities of the Finnish society to be considered by decision-makers, for public discussion and to be targeted by more specific reviewing and innovation operations.

Further information

Foresight.fi
National Foresight Network