IFTF Foresight Essentials
IFTF Foresight Essentials
IFTF Foresight Essentials is a one-of-a-kind course designed to help individuals and organizations develop their skills in the art and science of foresight. As a participant, you’ll learn to filter information to determine its usefulness; transform urgent foresight into actionable insights; disrupt short-termism; and develop and test your own experiments in future-making. Upon completion, you’ll receive a certification as a foresight practitioner and join a network of like-minded specialists committed to promoting and supporting futures thinking across the globe.
Why take this course
IFTF Foresight Essentials is for you if you want to:
- Get future-ready with practical tools that build your resilience in an unpredictable world.
- Transform your mindset to imagine new possibilities.
- Facilitate and lead thoughtful, strategic futures experiences and conversations.
- Generate insights to drive innovation, equity, and growth.
- Integrate foresight into your workflow and organizational culture.
Build a global network of inspiring futures colleagues. - Advance your career as a foresight professional.
The course includes
- Immersive, content-rich, multi-session instruction facilitated by senior IFTF research staff
- A proprietary IFTF Foresight Essentials Toolkit with 22 specialized tools and accessories
built on 50+ years of proven futures research and methodologies - Video lectures on the foresight fundamentals
- Exercise templates for you to use in your own professional foresight practice
- Presenter slides including key takeaways and learnings
- Digital training materials with convenient access in a central repository
- Personal access to instructors during dedicated office hours
- Networking and collaboration opportunities with participants from a wide range of professions,
sectors, and industries around the world - A Certificate of Completion demonstrating your accomplishment to share with potential
employers or clients - A personalized, strategic Foresight-Insight-Action plan to guide your new, purposeful journey
as a foresight practitioner - Membership into the growing IFTF Foresight Essentials alumni community—an exclusive
learning network that supports your development as a foresight practitioner beyond the
confines of the course
Who should attend
IFTF Foresight Essentials is for people and teams ready to build their foresight capacity. Attendees come
from the public and private sector, often from the disciplines of innovation, strategy, design, research,
education, engineering, technology, planning, operations, HR, and organizational change.
Format
The time commitment for this course includes:
- 20+ hours of live instruction over 6 structured sessions organized within IFTF’s
Prepare-Foresight-Insight-Action framework - 2 hours of assignments to be completed independently between each session,
including a mix of self-paced videos to watch, solo work, or buddy work - Optional 1-on-1 “Office Hour” time with a faculty member
- Optional “Sip & Chat” social hours to get to know your fellow participants
Technologies Used
- Zoom: This video conferencing platform will be our primary virtual tool to hold all our live online
training sessions and optional social gatherings. Please ensure you have a stable internet connection
to join us by video. - Miro: This online workspace is where we'll capture the entire visual narrative of our learning and
where you'll collaborate with colleagues and work independently on futures exercises. We strongly recommend you familiarize yourself with Miro before the training begins. - IFTF Foresight Essentials home base: This easy-to-use online learning platform designed specifically
for IFTF Foresight Essentials courses will serve as the training's home base. It will hold your agenda,
training materials, prework instructions, instructional videos, session recordings, presentation slides,
and more.
Agenda
Session 1: Orientation (1.5 hours)
In our kickoff gathering, we spend time framing our upcoming learning journey and getting to know others in the course.
Session 2: Prepare (4 hours)
Building on the pre-work videos that explored the fundamentals of foresight, session two focuses on how to prepare your evidence, frame futures questions, and open your mind for futures work. Through small group work and whole group discussion, we’ll get to know each other and orient ourselves toward the basic skills and practices of strategic foresight.
Session 3: Foresight (4 hours)
In session three we begin developing our own foresight and forecasts—“statements about the future that provoke insight in the present.” We explore a wide range of foresight approaches and practice the ability to analyze futures evidence. Through upbeat peer-to-peer interactions and group discussions, we focus on how to integrate these tools and processes into our day to day practice.
Session 4: Foresight to Insight (4 hours)
Session four continues our work with foresight tools, as well as the transition from Foresight to Insight—the “aha moment” when you draw meaningful connections between an outside-in view of the future and the work that you’re doing today. Insight tools include mapping the implications of foresight on various stakeholder groups or impact domains, and identifying waves of change.
Session 5: Insight to Action (4 hours)
In our final tool-based session, we discuss tools and processes for moving from Insight to Action. After all, the purpose of doing strategic foresight is to take different action in the present. In addition we cover instructions, tools, and guidance for our capstone activity—an action plan for how you will weave the methodologies you have learned into a project that is meaningful to you. Participants can use the original project they had in mind or develop something entirely new.
Office Hours (25 mins, varying time slots)
As participants work through their project planning, IFTF veterans will make themselves available to participants for 1-on-1 office hours and guidance sessions.
Session 6: Building Your Foresight Practice (4 hours)
We start our final session with an exercise that is consistently ranked as a highlight of the training session—peer feedback on action plans. In small groups, facilitated by IFTF faculty, participants share their plans, challenges, and questions. We gain insight into alternative ways to implement the tools and thoughtful commentary from peers and IFTF. And we participate in the final rite of the program—graduation—knowing that the community will continue to be a resource moving forward.
Dates
IFTF Foresight Essentials is offered for every time zone around the world, and in your choice of a 3-week, 4-week, or 6-week format. Please note that participants should plan to complete approximately 2 hours of independent assignments between each session and should schedule time on their calendars accordingly.
OCTOBER 6—NOVEMBER 10, 2021 | 6 weeks | Live-Online
Optimized for U.S. East, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Latin America
Session 1: Wed, Oct 6 | 8-9:45am EDT | 12-1:45pm UTC
Session 2: Wed, Oct 13 | 8am-12pm EDT | 12-4pm UTC
Session 3: Wed, Oct 20 | 8am-12pm EDT | 12-4pm UTC
Session 4: Wed, Oct 27 | 8am-12pm EDT | 12-4pm UTC
Session 5: Wed, Nov 3 | 8am-12pm EDT | 12-4pm UTC
Office Hours: Fri, Nov 5 and Mon, Nov 8 | Varying time slots
Session 6: Wed, Nov 10 | 8am-12pm EST | 1-5pm UTC
NOVEMBER 30—DECEMBER 15, 2021* | 3 weeks | Live-Online
Optimized for U.S., Europe, Middle East, Africa, Latin America
Session 1: Tue, Nov 30 | 8-9:45am PST | 11am-12:45pm EST | 4-5:45pm UTC
Session 2: Mon, Dec 6 | 8am-12pm PST | 11am-3pm EST | 4-8pm UTC
Session 3: Wed, Dec 8 | 8am-12pm PST | 11am-3pm EST | 4-8pm UTC
Session 4: Fri, Dec 10 | 8am-12pm PST | 11am-3pm EST | 4-8pm UTC
Session 5: Mon, Dec 13 | 8am-12pm PST | 11am-3pm EST | 4-8pm UTC
Office Hours: Tue, Dec 14 | Varying time slots
Session 6: Wed, Dec 15 | 8am-12pm PST | 11am-3pm EST | 4-8pm UTC
FEBRUARY 8-10, 2022 | 3 days | In-person | Palo Alto, CA
Day 1: Tue, Feb 8 | 9am-5:30pm PST
Day 2: Wed, Feb 9 | 9am-5:30pm PST
Day 3: Thu, Feb 10 | 9am-5:30pm PST
MARCH 3-24, 2022** | 4 weeks | Live-Online
Optimized for U.S. East, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Latin America
Session 1: Thu, Mar 3 | 9-10:45am EST | 14:00-15:45 UTC | 3-4:45pm CET
Session 2: Thu, Mar 10 | 9am-1pm EST | 14:00-18:00 UTC | 3-7pm CET
Session 3: Mon, Mar 14 | 9am-1pm EDT | 13:00-17:00 UTC | 2-6pm CET
Session 4: Thu, Mar 17 | 9am-1pm EDT | 13:00-17:00 UTC | 2-6pm CET
Session 5: Mon, Mar 21 | 9am-1pm EDT | 13:00-17:00 UTC | 2-6pm CET
Office Hours: Tue, Mar 22 and Wed, Mar 23 | Varying time slots
Session 6: Thu, Mar 24 | 9am-1pm EDT | 13:00-17:00 UTC | 2-6pm CET
JUNE 6-30, 2022 / JUNE 7-JULY 1, 2022 | 4 weeks | Live-Online
Optimized for U.S. Asia, Australia, New Zealand
American Time Zones
Session 1: Mon, Jun 6 | 5-6:45pm PDT | 8-9:45pm EDT
Session 2: Mon, Jun 13 | 5-9pm PDT | 8pm-12am EDT
Session 3: Thu, Jun 16 | 5-9pm PDT | 8pm-12am EDT
Session 4: Mon, Jun 20 | 5-9pm PDT | 8pm-12am EDT
Session 5: Thu, Jun 23 | 5-9pm PDT | 8pm-12am EDT
Office Hours: Mon, Jun 27 and Tue, Jun 28 | Varying time slots
Session 6: Thu, Jun 30 | 5-9pm PDT | 8pm-12am EDT
Asia Pacific Time Zones
Session 1: Tue, Jun 7 | 8-9:45am CST/SGT | 10-11:45am AEST | 12-1:45pm NZST
Session 2: Tue, Jun 14 | 8am-12pm CST/SGT | 10am-2pm AEST | 12-4 NZST
Session 3: Fri, Jun 17 | 8am-12pm CST/SGT | 10am-2pm AEST | 12-4 NZST
Session 4: Tue, Jun 21 | 8am-12pm CST/SGT | 10am-2pm AEST | 12-4 NZST
Session 5: Fri, Jun 24 | 8am-12pm CST/SGT | 10am-2pm AEST | 12-4 NZST
Office Hours: Tue, Jun 28 and Wed, Jun 29 | Varying time slots
Session 6: Fri, Jul 2 | 8am-12pm CST/SGT | 10am-2pm AEST | 12-4 NZST
*Please note that this schedule has been slightly modified as of June 11, 2021.
The previous session dates were Nov 30, Dec 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, and 14.
**Please note that U.S. Daylight Savings Time begins on March 13, 2022.
Not finding what you're looking for? Fill out this 2-minute survey to help us plan our upcoming sessions!
Registration Fee
- $6,500 Standard
- $6,000 Standard early-bird
- $4,500 Nonprofit/education/government*
- $4,000 Nonprofit/education/government early-bird*
Email register@iftf.org to verify your organization's eligibility, or to inquire about the
IFTF Vantage partner discount.
SEE ADDITIONAL REGISTRATION POLICIES >>
Do you need financial assistance? IFTF offers a limited number of scholarships for individuals who are underrepresented in the field of foresight or using foresight for social good/change to attend
our trainings. Apply here >>
To register
Email register@iftf.org with your name, organization, email address, and preferred session.
Space is limited and early registration is recommended to secure your seat and to take advantage of the early-bird discount (60 days in advance of a training).
Contact:
For questions, contact Cindy Baskin | cbaskin@iftf.org
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IFTF Foresight Toolkit + Templates Usage
As a research and educational organization, Institute for the Future’s mission is to build more foresight capacity in the world by providing tools and resources to help people better anticipate the future to make decisions in the present. To this end the IFTF Foresight Studio Toolkit and Templates are held under an IFTF copyright and licensed under the Creative Commons 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). If you are a certified IFTF Foresight Practitioner, we encourage the reproduction and use of these tools within your organization(s) and in your own practice of foresight education for any non-commercial, attribution-only, non-derivative use.