Foresight & Futures Capabilities

At the Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies, we view foresight as a powerful capability—one that equips organisations and individuals to navigate complexity, anticipate change, and make more informed strategic decisions.

We believe that futures capability arises from the understanding that the world is uncertain: there is not one extrapolated future, but many possible futures, and foresight offers tools to address the uncertainty this brings. As such, it is both a mindset and a set of skills, processes, and competencies that enable an organisation to act effectively in response to change or uncertainty.

By applying a futures lens to the present, foresight enhances your capacity to question prevailing assumptions, detect emerging trends, and think beyond linear or short-term solutions. It cultivates the skills needed to identify patterns of change, surface strategic blind spots, and develop flexible, resilient responses to uncertainty. By cultivating futures capabilities such as anticipatory leadership, an organisation can build futures capacity, employing its resources and assets and developing the strength to adapt to change.