Applied Foresight Network
Encyclopedia
The Applied Foresight Network (AFN) is a global web of university-based centres connected by a network of forums for professors, students, teachers, and concerned citizens. The AFN supports informed discussion and social action on issues of critical importance to the future of humanity. The Applied Foresight Centers and the AFN Forums build on Futures Studies traditions of multidisciplinary perspectives thinking and enhance this capacity with transdisciplinary dialogue supported by the latest in academic research.
Working on two levels, a key objective of the AFN is to support professors, students, teachers, and other concerned citizens to think globally and act locally. Autonomous Applied Foresight Centers will set their own local agendas and collaborate with the Network on a strategic set of global issues. Given the applied nature, and its bridge between the arts and sciences, the AFN is expected to become an important research resource and pulse taking tool for the development of public policy at local, national and international levels.
With representatives from the University of British Columbia
, the University of Victoria
, the Pacific Research Institute
, and Simon Fraser University
, the Applied Foresight Network coordinating hub is in the Humanities Department at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada. This AFN Coordinating Centre expects to manage start-up and ongoing operations, become a research initiator and repository for forum topics, and catalyze further social action, both individual and collective. The coordinating hub leadership fully expects to develop a key role for the AFN in the development of public policy at all levels. As well, it is exploring both Clearinghouse and Futures Studies educational program and issues research needs.
(Rede Lecture
, 1959). During 2002, Yale University
professor Wendell Bell asserted that “the rampant hyper-specialization and decomposition of developed disciplines into specialties and sub-specialties leaves little room for [the] much needed holistic approaches” of campus futures studies and adult education.
This funding proposal seeks new approaches to research relevance. It has the potential to build trans-disciplinary bridges across the solitudes (Bell, 2002, Burton, 2002) and respond to noted futurist H.G. Wells’ urgent call, in a British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC
) radio program on November 19, 1933, for professors of foresight to use their knowledge in socially responsible ways.
At the same time, while the world is characterized by rampant change, and there have been efforts such as those of American Council for the United Nations University
(2004), the World Academy of Art and Science
(WAAS) (2003) to assess both the positive and negative impacts of these burgeoning developments through expert panels and chat groups, this is not enough. According to Slaughter (2004), “It is one thing to articulate futures issues and problems and to enter into productive futures-related discourses with similarly equipped people. But it is quite another to operationalize the insights so gained.”
In the Killam Annual Lecture (Oct. 24, 2002), Dr. Martha Piper
, President of the University of British Columbia further echoed this gap when she said, "If we are to live in one small, interconnected world, we must assume and fulfill our responsibilities as global citizens... Interdisciplinary research in the human sciences is critical not only to advance our understanding of some of the most pressing social problems we face as a nation, but also to provide the basis for good legislation and informed public policies that are translated into effective social action" (p. 10).
To do this, the principal investigators for this AFN proposal plan to build on their experience and connections to create a global network of university hubs linked by a digital web of academic collaborators. Building on the advice of leading academic futurists and public decision makers, the principal investigators plan to further consult on the nature of the AFN, create a small secretariat, develop an operational plan, budget, and prospectus for funding, and develop and maintain the AFN website and professor, student, teacher, and concerned citizen forums.
The Challenge: In a British Broadcasting Corporation radio program on November 19, 1933, noted futurist, Herbert George Wells challenged members of the academic community to use their knowledge for the betterment of humanity.
Wells talked about how unprepared the world was for the motorcar. He said that, “the motorcar ought to have been anticipated at the beginning of this century. It was bound to come. It was bound to be cheapened and made abundant. It was bound to change our roads, take passenger and goods traffic from railways, alter the distribution of our population, and congest our towns with traffic. It was bound to make it possible for a man to commit a robbery or murder in Devonshire overnight and breakfast in London or Birmingham.” He further said that while we could have, we did nothing to work out the potential impacts of the motorcar before our roads were choked, the railways were bankrupt, and the police were dealing with the likes of Bonnie and Clyde (World Future Society
: Futures Research Quarterly, 1987).
Since that BBC broadcast close to eighty years ago, specters of global warming
and uncontrolled population growth have filled our newspapers; scientists have put a man on the moon, mapped the human genome, cloned Dolly the sheep, crossed a strawberry with an Arctic char, created weapons of mass destruction, and advanced artificial intelligence, robotics, and nano-technologies; and the world is dealing with numerous threats to peace, the global commons
, and to humanity itself. [We have] never experienced the convergence and, in some cases, the collision of global forces of such magnitude and diversity (John L. Petersen, The Arlington Institute
).
But at a time when Yale University Professor Emeritus Wendell Bell asserts that “the rampant hyper-specialization and decomposition of developed disciplines into specialties and sub-specialties leaves little room for [the] much needed holistic approaches”, the need has never been greater for cross-disciplinary academic discourse on issues of critical importance to the future of humanity.
Working on two levels, a key objective of the AFN is to support professors, students, teachers, and other concerned citizens to think globally and act locally. Autonomous Applied Foresight Centers will set their own local agendas and collaborate with the Network on a strategic set of global issues. Given the applied nature, and its bridge between the arts and sciences, the AFN is expected to become an important research resource and pulse taking tool for the development of public policy at local, national and international levels.
With representatives from the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
, the University of Victoria
University of Victoria
The University of Victoria, often referred to as UVic, is the second oldest public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It is a research intensive university located in Saanich and Oak Bay, about northeast of downtown Victoria. The University's annual enrollment is about 20,000 students...
, the Pacific Research Institute
Pacific Research Institute
The Pacific Research Institute , or officially the Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy, is a California-based free-market think tank founded in 1979 whose stated vision is the promotion of "the principles of individual freedom and personal responsibility"...
, and Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University is a Canadian public research university in British Columbia with its main campus on Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby, and satellite campuses in Vancouver and Surrey. The main campus in Burnaby, located from downtown Vancouver, was established in 1965 and has more than 34,000...
, the Applied Foresight Network coordinating hub is in the Humanities Department at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada. This AFN Coordinating Centre expects to manage start-up and ongoing operations, become a research initiator and repository for forum topics, and catalyze further social action, both individual and collective. The coordinating hub leadership fully expects to develop a key role for the AFN in the development of public policy at all levels. As well, it is exploring both Clearinghouse and Futures Studies educational program and issues research needs.
Background
As new scientific and technological knowledge developed in the early 19th century, academics were being forced to choose between traditional education in the arts and humanities or in scientific and technological areas (Wyllys,1996). Indeed, by the 20th century, this trend had produced what Sir Charles Percy Snow called a social divide of The Two CulturesThe Two Cultures
The Two Cultures is the title of an influential 1959 Rede Lecture by British scientist and novelist C. P. Snow. Its thesis was that "the intellectual life of the whole of western society" was split into the titular two cultures—namely the sciences and the humanities—and that this was a major...
(Rede Lecture
Rede Lecture
The Sir Robert Rede's Lecturer is an annual appointment to give a public lecture, the Sir Robert Rede's Lecture at the University of Cambridge. It is named for Sir Robert Rede, who was Chief Justice of the Common Pleas in the sixteenth century.-Initial series:The initial series of lectures ranges...
, 1959). During 2002, Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
professor Wendell Bell asserted that “the rampant hyper-specialization and decomposition of developed disciplines into specialties and sub-specialties leaves little room for [the] much needed holistic approaches” of campus futures studies and adult education.
This funding proposal seeks new approaches to research relevance. It has the potential to build trans-disciplinary bridges across the solitudes (Bell, 2002, Burton, 2002) and respond to noted futurist H.G. Wells’ urgent call, in a British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
) radio program on November 19, 1933, for professors of foresight to use their knowledge in socially responsible ways.
At the same time, while the world is characterized by rampant change, and there have been efforts such as those of American Council for the United Nations University
United Nations University
The United Nations University is an academic arm of the United Nations established in 1973, which serves purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. The UNU undertakes research into the pressing global problems of human survival, development and welfare that are the concern of...
(2004), the World Academy of Art and Science
World Academy of Art and Science
The World Academy of Art and Science is an international non-governmental scientific organization, an informal and non-official world network of individual fellows elected for distinguished accomplishments in the fields of natural and social sciences, arts and the humanities...
(WAAS) (2003) to assess both the positive and negative impacts of these burgeoning developments through expert panels and chat groups, this is not enough. According to Slaughter (2004), “It is one thing to articulate futures issues and problems and to enter into productive futures-related discourses with similarly equipped people. But it is quite another to operationalize the insights so gained.”
In the Killam Annual Lecture (Oct. 24, 2002), Dr. Martha Piper
Martha Piper
Martha C. Piper, OC, OBC was the President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of British Columbia. She held the position from 1997 until 2006, and was the 11th person and the first woman to do so...
, President of the University of British Columbia further echoed this gap when she said, "If we are to live in one small, interconnected world, we must assume and fulfill our responsibilities as global citizens... Interdisciplinary research in the human sciences is critical not only to advance our understanding of some of the most pressing social problems we face as a nation, but also to provide the basis for good legislation and informed public policies that are translated into effective social action" (p. 10).
To do this, the principal investigators for this AFN proposal plan to build on their experience and connections to create a global network of university hubs linked by a digital web of academic collaborators. Building on the advice of leading academic futurists and public decision makers, the principal investigators plan to further consult on the nature of the AFN, create a small secretariat, develop an operational plan, budget, and prospectus for funding, and develop and maintain the AFN website and professor, student, teacher, and concerned citizen forums.
Call to action
- "The power of one becomes the force of many."
The Challenge: In a British Broadcasting Corporation radio program on November 19, 1933, noted futurist, Herbert George Wells challenged members of the academic community to use their knowledge for the betterment of humanity.
Wells talked about how unprepared the world was for the motorcar. He said that, “the motorcar ought to have been anticipated at the beginning of this century. It was bound to come. It was bound to be cheapened and made abundant. It was bound to change our roads, take passenger and goods traffic from railways, alter the distribution of our population, and congest our towns with traffic. It was bound to make it possible for a man to commit a robbery or murder in Devonshire overnight and breakfast in London or Birmingham.” He further said that while we could have, we did nothing to work out the potential impacts of the motorcar before our roads were choked, the railways were bankrupt, and the police were dealing with the likes of Bonnie and Clyde (World Future Society
World Future Society
The World Future Society is a nonprofit educational and scientific organization in Bethesda, Maryland, US, founded in 1966.The Society investigates how social, economic and technological developments are shaping the future...
: Futures Research Quarterly, 1987).
Since that BBC broadcast close to eighty years ago, specters of global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
and uncontrolled population growth have filled our newspapers; scientists have put a man on the moon, mapped the human genome, cloned Dolly the sheep, crossed a strawberry with an Arctic char, created weapons of mass destruction, and advanced artificial intelligence, robotics, and nano-technologies; and the world is dealing with numerous threats to peace, the global commons
Global commons
Global Commons: the earth's unowned natural resources, such as the oceans, the atmosphere, and space. Global commons is that which no one person or state may own or control and which is central to life. A Global Common contains an infinite potential with regard to the understanding and advancement...
, and to humanity itself. [We have] never experienced the convergence and, in some cases, the collision of global forces of such magnitude and diversity (John L. Petersen, The Arlington Institute
The Arlington Institute
The Arlington Institute is a 501 non-profit think tank specializing in predictive modeling of future events, that is, futures studies. Founded in 1989 by former naval officer and military expert John L...
).
But at a time when Yale University Professor Emeritus Wendell Bell asserts that “the rampant hyper-specialization and decomposition of developed disciplines into specialties and sub-specialties leaves little room for [the] much needed holistic approaches”, the need has never been greater for cross-disciplinary academic discourse on issues of critical importance to the future of humanity.
See also
- TechnologyTechnologyTechnology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
- List of futures scholars
- List of future studies topics
- 15 Global Challenges
- End of civilization
- Future energy development
- Hubbert peak theoryHubbert peak theoryThe Hubbert peak theory posits that for any given geographical area, from an individual oil-producing region to the planet as a whole, the rate of petroleum production tends to follow a bell-shaped curve...
- State of the FutureState of the FutureThe State of the Future is an annual report published since 1996. Since 2009 it was published by The Millennium Project. It was published by the American Council of the United Nations University from 1997 to 2006 and in 2007 and 2008 under the auspices of the World Federation of United Nations...
- Technological singularityTechnological singularityTechnological singularity refers to the hypothetical future emergence of greater-than-human intelligence through technological means. Since the capabilities of such an intelligence would be difficult for an unaided human mind to comprehend, the occurrence of a technological singularity is seen as...
- TranshumanismTranshumanismTranshumanism, often abbreviated as H+ or h+, is an international intellectual and cultural movement that affirms the possibility and desirability of fundamentally transforming the human condition by developing and making widely available technologies to eliminate aging and to greatly enhance human...
- Neofuturism
- Lynn Elen Burton
- Neo-postfuturism
- Kardashev scaleKardashev scaleThe Kardashev scale is a method of measuring an advanced civilization's level of technological advancement. The scale is only theoretical and in terms of an actual civilization highly speculative; however, it puts energy consumption of an entire civilization in a cosmic perspective. It was first...
- Thought experimentThought experimentA thought experiment or Gedankenexperiment considers some hypothesis, theory, or principle for the purpose of thinking through its consequences...
- Simon Fraser UniversitySimon Fraser UniversitySimon Fraser University is a Canadian public research university in British Columbia with its main campus on Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby, and satellite campuses in Vancouver and Surrey. The main campus in Burnaby, located from downtown Vancouver, was established in 1965 and has more than 34,000...
Organizations
- Millennium ProjectMillennium ProjectThe Millennium Project is an independent international think tank with 40 "nodes" around the world that gathers and accesses information on futures studies that produces the annual State of the Future report since 1997 and the Futures Research Methodology series Versions 1-3.The Project was formed...
- RAND Corporation
- Association of Professional FuturistsAssociation of Professional FuturistsThe Association of Professional Futurists is an organization that promotes futurists as valuable professionals through networking, conferences, and other activities involving its members.-See also:* List of futures scholars* Global Business Network...
- Global Business NetworkGlobal Business NetworkGlobal Business Network, or GBN, is a strategy consulting firm and member of Monitor Group, that helps businesses, NGOs, and governments use scenario planning to plan for multiple possible futures....
- World Future SocietyWorld Future SocietyThe World Future Society is a nonprofit educational and scientific organization in Bethesda, Maryland, US, founded in 1966.The Society investigates how social, economic and technological developments are shaping the future...
- World Futures Studies FederationWorld Futures Studies FederationThe World Futures Studies Federation is a global non-governmental organization that was founded in 1973 to promote the development of futures studies as an academic discipline.- History :...