Technology foresight and governance challenges: emergency preparedness and risk management.

Dr Van Woensel will teach the main principles of technology foresight. She will focus on how to be prepared for possible future developments in the areas of science and technology. She will guide the participants along four main foundations of foresight thinking, which she advocates as essential good thinking habits for strategic management as well as for policy preparation and even for emergency preparedness. She considers foresight thinking as an effective way to avoid surprises, especially negative ones.

The four essential thinking habits in strategic and technology foresight as recommended by Lieve are as follows: (i) exploring the ecosystem of the technology or other subject of investigation; (ii) exploring issues from a 360-degree perspective; (iii) being aware of and countering possible biases, including the analysts’ biases as well as the stakeholders’ biases; and (iv) assessing conclusions in the light of possible unintended effects.

During the lecture, Lieve will touch upon varied cases, including technology related, security related and geopolitical issues, and she will refer to global risks and polycrises.

This event is organised for Politics and International Relations BSc and International Public Policy MSc students, and will be of broader interest to our community. All UCL staff and students are welcome to attend.

The lecture is co-sponsored by the UCL Department of Political Science and UCL Global Governance Institute.