State of Foresight in the US Government | Hinesight....for Foresight

If you’ve heard me talk about the state of foresight over the last few years, you’ll not be surprised by the following points about the adoption of foresight in the public sector:

It is outpacing adoption in the the private sector globally
Singapore, Finland, and Canada are among the many nations with a solid national approach to foresight
the UAE is coming on strong — amazing enthusiasm for the future!
US government foresight is rebounding, but it is in pockets and not centrally coordinated.

Now, I am happy to introduce some solid research on this topic on foresight in the US government. Dr. J Peter Scoblic has produced a wonderful research report, Strategic Foresight in US Agencies that is well worth our attention. Peter just finished his dissertation on the topic and is now a fellow with the International Security Program of New America. The report covers the obvious need for foresight in government and offers a case study on the very successful Project Evergreen run for many years by the US Coast Guard. It also talks about the current state of foresight in the US government, mentioning some of the work we’ve done at Houston Foresight and offers some thoughts on the future of foresight in the US government. Great to see scholarly work emerging that is chronicling the slow and steady adoption of foresight. We are making progress! — Andy Hines

About Andy Hines

Dr. Andy Hines is Program Coordinator at the University of Houston’s Graduate Program in Foresight, bringing together the experience he earned as an organizational, consulting, and academic futurist. He is also speaking, workshopping, and consulting through his firm Hinesight.

Before that, he was Managing Director of Social Technologies/Innovaro, and served as an Adjunct Professor with the university since 2004. Hines enjoyed earlier careers as a consulting and organizational futurist. He was a partner with Coates & Jarratt, Inc., a think tank and consulting firm that specialized in the study of the future. He was also Futurist & Senior Ideation Leader at Dow Chemical with a mission of using futures tools and knowledge to turn ideas into new business opportunities. Before that, Hines established and ran the Global Trends Program for the Kellogg Company.

Hines is motivated by a professional hunger to make foresight practical and useful, and he believes that foresight can help deliver the insight that is so needed in today’s organizations and the world. His goal, he says, is to infect as many change agents as possible with this message. Thus, he has honed a skill set designed to make foresight more actionable in organizations.

In this pursuit, he has authored five books: Teaching about the Future: The Basics of Foresight Education (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012); ConsumerShift: How Changing Values Are Reshaping the Consumer Landscape (No Limits Publishing, 2011); Thinking About the Future: Guidelines for Strategic Foresight (Social Technologies, 2007); 2025: Science and Technology Reshapes US and Global Society (Oak Hill, 1997); and Managing Your Future as an Association (ASAE, 1994) and has another in the hands of publishers: Teaching about the Future: The Basics of Foresight Education. He has also authored dozens of articles, speeches, and workshops, including the 2003 Emerald Literati Awards’ Outstanding Paper accolade for best article published in Foresight for “An Audit for Organizational Futurists” and the 2008 award for “Scenarios: The State of the Art.” He has appeared on several radio and television programs, PBS Houston, KRIV-26 News, and the CBS “Early Show.” He also co-founded and is former Chair of the Association of Professional Futurists.

About Andy Hines

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