Scenario Planning

Scenario Planning is one of the most recognised and most often applied futures methods. Scenarios are stories or images portraying plausible alternative future worlds. They are used to help people to understand what different future states could be like and identify steps that could lead to their emergence. Scenarios are very helpful in identifying and communicating potential future opportunities and threats. Decisions and policies can be evaluated against them to see what impact and effectiveness they would have if a given future state emerged.

Scenarios are The Futures Academy’s key strength. We engage with clients in the scenario building process using the Prospective Through Scenarios methodology. Our aim is not only to provide an organisation with a set of alternative scenarios and other tangible research outcomes, but also to embed an innovative way of thinking about the future and develop a new capacity to deal with change within the client organisation. Learning outcomes are considered to be as important as the tangible research results.

In recent years, we have developed scenarios for cities (ex. Cork, Galway, Dublin and others) and countries (Ireland), as well as for specific sectors or issues, such as real estate and property sector and workplace futures.