Foresight
Talk to Josef Hargrave about foresight
Foresight
Talk to Josef Hargrave
Building business resilience
We help organisations understand change, identify opportunities and make decisions that build resilience for the future. Our set of capabilities gives you unrivalled support to explore, define and shape the future of the built environment.
You can access our foresight services through a network of regional consultants around the world. Wherever you are based, we can help you look beyond your sector to explore opportunities for growth and help build business resilience.
Strategy and visioning
Organisations and large projects need a common vision to ensure that different components can effectively work towards a common goal. We specialise in co-creating visions that provide the overall direction and framework for an organisation, project or initiative. These visions support strategy, collaboration, creative thinking, design innovation and leadership.
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Insights and trends
Our team scans a global network of sources for new trends, insights and cutting-edge thinking. We analyse this and communicate what it could mean for a specific business, market or project.
Our Inspire insights database supports the collection and communication of insights as part of a dedicated horizon scanning programme. We specialise in using this knowledge to identify the trends that are most important.
Scenario planning
Scenarios are hypothetical illustrations of the future. They include qualitative and quantitative elements and are intentionally applied in multiples to show indeterminacy and possible alternatives. Scenarios allow us to understand complex systems and explore the ways in which these may evolve over time. By challenging our tendency to favour ‘business as usual’, scenarios can help decision-makers frame their strategic thinking, and test and refine strategic options.
Design and innovation
We help companies to explore new opportunities for growth by breaking down visions and goals into clear strategic decision points. Building on the knowledge of Arup’s internal experts, we understand how a market is changing and where opportunities for growth and innovation can be found.
We examine the specific context of a project and how this will impact its future operation to ensure our designs are forward looking, adaptive and future-proof.
Foresight by design
Foresight describes a set of approaches and skills that help individuals and organisations explore and shape the future. This includes understanding key drivers of change, possible projections into the future, and the implications of change on specific businesses or projects.
We developed the concept of ‘foresight by design’, which uses innovative design tools and techniques to bring new ideas to life and engage clients and stakeholders in meaningful conversations about change. Our design-led approach ensures that visions and strategies are tangible and actionable.
Find out more about our services in our Foresight Advisory brochure.
Contextualising trends into business specific impacts requires a deep understanding of the unique processes, decision points and mindsets that futures thinking should influence from one project to the next.”
