resources
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In foresight, a signal is an example of the future in the present day. Signals can be used to track emerging issues and prepare for possible innovations and disruptions. They can come from anywhere - the news, technological advancements, cultural shifts, fashion trends, etc.
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At its core, scenarios are an exercise in imagination. Scenario-building seeks to imagine a wide spectrum of possible futures, from the plausible to the desirable. To provide form to the process of envisioning alternative futures informed by signals, we’ve most frequently utilized the 4 Futures developed by Jim Dator at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa: Growth, Constraint, Collapse, and Transformation.
Taking the time to look forward and anticipate many possible horizons can help us prepare and develop more resilient, responsive systems. Most importantly, scenarios can help us identify our preferred futures, so that we can actively work to support their development in the present.
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video
Social Work Futures Lab Founder, Laura Nissen, introduces futures thinking, anticipatory social work, and why foresight is a critical practical tool for the profession.
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Nissen, Laura. 2020. JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY IN HUMAN SERVICES
Abstract:
What is the future of the social work profession? This paper explores what being more future facing might look like for social workers/educators and introduces foresight as a useful and urgently needed framework for the profession.Contemporary realities like Covid-19 and uprisings associated with long-standing racial violence bring added relevance to the need to apply new ways of thinking, use new practical techniques, and strengthen a collective ability to see beyond the current cannon of ideas and approaches. These additions to the social work toolbox are much needed in a world full of inequity, change and turbulence. Utilization of a foresight lens has the opportunity to amplify and deepen the sociological and moral imagination, as well as the strategic effectiveness of the profession of social work now and in the years ahead.
The paper ends with a call to action to amplify and evolve social work strengths to join the interdisciplinary community of those using forecasting methods to build a better future.
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events
Join our upcoming events to get to know Social Work Futures Lab members, ask questions, and grow your community!
(F)OUR FUTURES
Follow Tara, a disillusioned social worker, as she confronts four possible futures and sees first-hand how social work has been impacted by each new future.
What type of social work do we want to see in our shared future?
And what type of social work will the future need?
you can also watch and 💛 on YouTube https://youtu.be/yYwLbZt5OBU
Explore Futures Studies in an Interactive Video Series
Across 3 easy-to-digest lessons, Tara introduces us to core foresight skills like signals and scenarios while making the case that futures thinking is a critical tool for the future of the social work profession through practical examples and exploratory exercises.
from the lab
Monumental Dreams
Interested in our Monuments from the Future project but not sure where to start? SWFLab members have shared a few examples of monuments that were created as part of a 2023 training exercise with the inventor of the game: Jane McGonigal.
Take a look via the button below!