Cynthia Selin | Saïd Business School

Profile

Cynthia is a social scientist whose research advances methodological innovation in support of decision-making under conditions of complexity and uncertainty.

Her work engages with the theoretical dimensions of anticipation and imagination, examining how they inform the practices of foresight, strategy and governance. Through the development of new concepts, frameworks and participatory processes, she contributes to more reflexive and adaptive approaches to change.

Cynthia is a strategist who develops new tools to help organisations prepare for unpredictable futures and better manage innovation. Building on more than 20 years’ experience with scenario planning, she works with an array of clients to help clarify problems, test strategies, identify opportunities and articulate policy options, all the while enhancing their ability to act with foresight.

Cynthia has consulted with organisations from around the world, across a wide variety of industries, from energy and high technology to legal and financial services. She has conducted scenario and strategic planning for large companies, utilities, non-profits, laboratories and cities.

She has published widely in peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes on foresight, sustainability, and innovation, and has co-edited special issues advancing the theory and practice of scenario planning. She speaks internationally on the governance of innovation and novel foresight and strategy practices.

Cynthia holds a BA in American Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz, an MA in Science and Technology Studies from Roskilde University (Denmark), and a PhD in Knowledge and Management from Copenhagen Business School’s Institute for Politics, Philosophy and Management.

Research

Cynthia’s research explores how people and institutions orient toward the future in the face of deep uncertainty.

She investigates methods for anticipating change, navigating complexity, and fostering more sustainable and imaginative pathways forward. Her work is particularly attuned to the tensions between innovation and responsibility and to the ways in which long-term thinking can help people pause, reframe and navigate uncertainty with greater care and clarity.

As a scholar of science, technology and society, she examines how socio-political uncertainties take shape around emerging technologies - from nanotechnology and artificial intelligence to the constellation of energy innovations driving contemporary transitions.

Cynthia's work asks:

How do we make decisions when the future is contested and indeterminate?
What kinds of tools, narratives and institutional practices can support wiser action in uncertain times?

Teaching

Cynthia is a member of the team on the award-winning Oxford Scenarios Programme and teaches executives methods for long-range strategy and the management of uncertainty.

Social media

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