The horizon is a grateful metaphor within the context of foresight and future studies. It is a dynamic concept, it refers to something which is never fully attainable, which is always shifting, which is not always very crisp or clear, yet gives us a sense of time and distance, of what is yet to come, what we can expect. In a sense, it gives us a head-start.

Horizon scanning – the systematic search for opportunities and threats the future might bring – is used increasingly by countries and goverments to initiate timely foresight exercises and research.

As such, the dutch COS (cross-sectoral discussion platform), together with the Stichting Toekomstbeeld der Techniek (foundation for technology foresight) has launched the Horizonscan project (see website, in dutch) ‘to explore future problems and opportunities and signal ways in which science could deliver strategic knowledge and solutions on a timely basis. Furthermore, it is aimed at enabling and encouraging policymakers and politicians to take strategic decisions for the long term in stead of merely focussing on today’s challenges and tackling problems using ad-hoc solutions.’

The initiative follows in the footsteps of and links up with several other projects of its kind elsewhere in Europe (e.g. British horizonscanning centre).

Among other things, the website features a list of problems and opportunities the future might bring, to which everyone can add and respond as well as cast their vote in terms of importance and plausibility. This knowledge base can then be used by companies, researchers and policymakers to assess their developments from a broader, more integral/integrative perspective on the future.

Image via Wikipedia.

Related posts:

1. three horizons
2. UK obesity foresight

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 2nd, 2006 at 22:54 and is filed under foresight, projects. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.