Oxford Futures Forum 2008
The Oxford Futures Forum (OFF) was founded with the aim of forging and supporting an international community of futures practitioners, concerned with developing theories and practices that result in actionable knowledge. The theme of the 2008 OFF was ‘Scenarios and Sensemaking.’
Scenarios are stories about plausible contexts in the future, which are used to comprehend the efficacy of particular strategies or decisions. The Institute for Science, Innovaiton and Society has a world-renowned expertise in futures thinking, as well as an extensive network of futures practitioners. Sensemaking is the process of creating understanding of uncertain or ambiguous circumstances in a way that makes action or decisions possible. Karl Weick’s and Kathleen Sutcliffe’s work on sensemaking explores how this process happens at an organizational level.
OFF 2008 brought together scenario thinkers and sensemakers for two days of exploration and reflection on their practices: What are the similarities and differences between these two practices? Does bringing them together help to clarify the theory of what works, when and why, in each practice? Can this help to extend the effectiveness of each practice? The meeting was organised as a ‘strategic conversation’: three ‘rounds’ of small-group discussions were interspersed with plenary sessions in which all the participants reported and discussed the key points and questions that had arisen in their separate groups.
Oxford Futures Forum 2008 Summary
Oxford Futures Forum 2008 Round 1
Oxford Futures Forum 2008 Round 2
Oxford Futures Forum 2008 Round 3