Knowledge creation and mobility in and through futures workshops

Abstract

Participatory futures workshops are commonly used to create future-oriented knowledge. It is essential to understand how to manage futures knowledge to benefit from it and utilize it; however, it is unclear how the knowledge creation process is developed in futures workshops and how the created futures knowledge is mobilized by participants. These questions were answered by an empirical study using participant observation and interview methods. The results showed that futures knowledge is socially constructed through several processes, but individually interpreted, and that individual understanding and personal contacts are vital for knowledge mobilization.