This working paper is part of the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose’s (UCL IIPP) publication series.
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Foresight and Dynamic Capabilities: Leveraging the futures wheel for mission-oriented policy | UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP) Policy Brief No.33
Authors:
- Valentina Amuso | Associate Professor in Political Economy, University College London
- Anna Goulden | Former Research Fellow, Institute of Innovation and Public Purpose, University College London
- Pierluigi Brombo | Head of Unit Foresight, Studies and Policy Assessment, European Economic and Social Committee (EU)
- Ted Fuller | UNESCO Chair holder on Responsible Foresight for Sustainable Development and of Entrepreneurship and Strategic Foresight, University of Lincoln, UK
- Magdalena Read | UNESCO Chair Coordinator and Senior Lecturer in Organisational Behaviour and Management, University of Lincoln
- Joon Mo Ahn | Professor, Department of Public Administration, Korea University
Key takeaways:
- The Futures Wheel, a foresight tool for the development and systematisation of ideas, can be a valuable means for leveraging collective sensemaking in public sector organisations.
- While widely utilised in policymaking, we explore how the Futures Wheel can support mission-oriented policies and stimulate dynamic capabilities in public organisations via collective sensemaking.
- The Futures Wheel is a particularly user-friendly tool for both beginners and more experienced analysts in the field of foresight and mission-oriented policy design.
- We found that the effectiveness of the Futures Wheel may depend on balanced stakeholder engagement, rooted in expertise and fostering multi-voiced perspectives, through repeated interactions across stages, from indirectly to directly involved stakeholders and back.
- The use of the Futures Wheel should be accompanied by reflection on the expertise and lived experiences involved in the participatory sensemaking process, as these shape the knowledge that is produced and consumed.
Reference:
Amuso, V., Goulden, A., Brombo, P., Fuller, T., Read, M., and Ahn, J. M. UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, IIPP Policy Brief Series (IIPP Policy Brief 33, 2025). ISSN 2635-0122.
This working paper is part of the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose’s (UCL IIPP) publication series.
Explore more working papers and policy reports here.