Catalysts for change: vizualizing the horizon of poverty

Abstract

Purpose -The Institute for the Future (IFTF) has collaborated with the Rockefeller Foundation and its Searchlight function to create a framework for broad engagement in strategic thinking about ways to catalyze change in the lives of poor or vulnerable communities. This paper seeks to focus on this broad-based approach.Design/methodology/approach -Starting from the top-down horizon scan of the foundation's Searchlight partners -a network of horizon scanning organizations -IFTF created a public database of signals of innovation and disruption in the domain of poverty and social change. This signals database was used to build a visual map of catalysts for change, creating a simple hierarchy of four catalyst types, each containing four action zones and a pivotal challenge. This map provided the language and framework for engaging a global community in a serious game to extend the vision of the Searchlight function and capture novel ideas for innovations that could improve the lives of those in marginalized communities.Findings -With an estimated global reach of 160,000 views and 1,600 game players from 79 countries, the game produced more than 18,000 ideas about catalysts for change.Originality/value -This framework of foresight (the signals database) to insight (the visual map of catalysts for change) to action (global strategic game) demonstrates a way to integrate top-down expert foresight with bottom-up strategic ideation on a global scale.

Approaches to Gaming the Future: Planning a Foresight Game on Circular Economy

“…Of these four categories, the tools in collaborative scenario development have most game-related characteristics in them. The most prominent example, and one that is most relevant for the scope of this paper, are MMORPGs (massive multiplayer online role playing games), such as the foresight engine by IFTF (Institute for the Future) [13]. These foresight-oriented games can bring together up to thousands of players to create, share and rate ideas about future development.…”