An Intensive 5-day Training Course
Developing Strategic Foresight – Tools and Techniques
Advanced Methods for Anticipating Change, Navigating Uncertainty, and Designing Future-Ready Strategies
CLASSROOM DATES
INTRODUCTION
The Developing Strategic Foresight Training Course is designed for professionals who need to anticipate disruption, recognise emerging opportunities, and build long-term organisational resilience. In a rapidly shifting global landscape, traditional forecasting approaches are no longer enough to manage the interconnected changes driven by technology, geopolitics, regulation, and societal transformation. Leaders require structured approaches that allow them to explore uncertainty, understand alternative futures, and translate future-oriented insights into practical strategic direction.
This Strategic Foresight Training Course provides an in-depth foundation in foresight principles and their practical value across industries. It demonstrates how future thinking moves beyond prediction to help organisations build preparedness, strengthen adaptability, and guide decision-making under uncertainty. Through proven foresight tools, participants learn how to interpret weak signals, analyse megatrends, identify critical uncertainties, and develop scenario-based insights that support long-range planning.
The Strategic Foresight Course also emphasises how future intelligence is used by governments, global institutions, and leading corporations to enhance competitiveness and ensure strategic alignment amid complex global shifts. Participants gain hands-on experience with established foresight methodologies and learn how to embed structured future-thinking into organisational systems.
This Developing Strategic Foresight Training Course explores:
- The core concepts and evolution of strategic foresight
- How to scan environments for signals of technological and societal change
- Approaches for building alternative scenario frameworks
- Tools for assessing long-term risks and opportunities
- Methods to integrate foresight into strategic planning and transformation efforts
KEY SKILLS YOU WILL GAIN
After completing this training course, participants will be able to demonstrate the following skills and competencies:
Futures Thinking: Build the capacity to examine long-term uncertainties and anticipate emerging developments across multiple domains.
Trend and Signal Analysis: Identify and interpret megatrends, weak signals, and early indicators shaping future environments.
Scenario Development: Construct structured alternative futures that support strategy, innovation, and long-range planning.
Strategic Interpretation: Evaluate future implications, risks, and opportunities to inform organisational decision-making.
Foresight Integration: Embed foresight tools and insights into corporate strategy, governance, and transformation initiatives.
TRAINING OBJECTIVES
By the end of the Developing Strategic Foresight Training Course, participants will be able to:
- Understand the foundational purpose, principles, and value of strategic foresight in modern organisations.
- Identify forces of change, key megatrends, emerging disruptions, and early signals influencing long-term strategic direction.
- Apply advanced foresight tools such as STEEP/PESTEL, futures wheels, cross-impact analysis, backcasting, and Delphi studies.
- Develop structured scenarios, evaluate their strategic implications, and assess risks and opportunities over extended time horizons.
- Integrate foresight outcomes into strategy development, planning processes, and organisational governance systems.
- Support leadership teams by providing long-term insights, recommendations, and foresight-based decision support.
- Build future-monitoring structures and internal foresight capabilities to enhance resilience.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
The Strategic Foresight Training Course is ideal for professionals who contribute to long-term planning, innovation, transformation, or strategic decision-making. It is particularly valuable for:
- Strategic Planning, Corporate Strategy, and Business Development Professionals.
- Government Policy Units, National Vision Offices, and Teams Involved in Future Studies.
- Innovation, Transformation, and Organisational Development Functions.
- Governance, Risk, and Compliance Teams Working on Long-Term Resilience.
- Intelligence, Research, and Insights Departments Responsible for Environmental Scanning.
- Executives and Senior Leaders Shaping Long-Term Organisational Direction.
- Professionals Involved in Designing Change Initiatives, Foresight Systems, or Strategic Frameworks.
TRAINING METHODOLOGY
This Developing Strategic Foresight Training Course uses interactive, practical, and experience-based learning methods to ensure participants gain a thorough understanding of foresight tools and their applications. The training incorporates group exercises, individual contributions, instructor-led insights, and structured discussions that strengthen comprehension and collaborative analysis.
Participants will work through real examples, case-based evaluations, and guided foresight activities that demonstrate how each tool applies to organisational contexts. Constructive feedback, peer interaction, and hands-on application ensure that complex concepts are absorbed effectively and transformed into actionable knowledge. By combining structured learning with practical exercises, the course ensures that participants develop the confidence and capability to apply foresight methodologies within their professional roles.
TRAINING SUMMARY
The Strategic Foresight Course equips professionals with the frameworks, analytical tools, and mindset needed to navigate rapid change and support long-term organisational stability. As markets evolve and global uncertainties intensify, the ability to anticipate future developments becomes essential for effective planning and decision-making. This training provides a comprehensive foundation in foresight concepts, environmental scanning, scenario construction, and advanced analytical methods used to explore alternative futures.
Participants will learn how to interpret complex information, structure foresight outputs, and integrate future insights into strategy development and governance processes. The course emphasises how long-term thinking contributes to resilience, innovation, competitiveness, and organisational transformation. By the end of the course, delegates will be equipped to support leadership with future-focused intelligence, build foresight systems, and contribute to stronger, more adaptable decision-making across their organisations.
TRAINING OUTLINE
Day 1: Foundations and Principles of Strategic Foresight
Understanding Futures Thinking
- Definition, purpose, and evolution of strategic foresight
- Distinguishing forecasting, foresight, and scenario planning
- The limits of linear planning in an uncertain environment
- Concepts of possible, plausible, probable, and preferred futures
- Exploring systems thinking and interconnected change
The Role of Foresight in Modern Organisations
- How governments and major corporations use foresight
- Foresight as a key pillar of strategic resilience and innovation
- Identifying blind spots and cognitive biases in strategic planning
- Understanding the implications of rapid technological advancements
Day 2: Horizon Scanning, Environmental Analysis, and Trend Assessment
Horizon Scanning for Early Signals
- Purpose and methodology of horizon scanning
- Identifying weak signals, wild cards, disruptions, and tipping points
- Intelligence sources: research centers, patents, scientific journals, global think tanks, geopolitical reports, and data platforms
Environmental and Trend Analysis
- STEEP/PESTEL framework for scanning across multiple domains
- Understanding megatrends and their long-term impact
- Categorising trends: drivers, enablers, accelerators, disruptors
- Constructing impact pathways and mapping potential outcomes
Developing Future Intelligence Systems
- Building and updating trend radars
- Monitoring volatility and uncertainty indicators
- Structuring trend insights for strategic relevance
Day 3: Scenario Building and Alternative Futures Development
Introduction to Scenario Planning
- Purpose of scenarios and their value in decision-making
- Types of scenarios: exploratory, normative, strategic, baseline
- Common misconceptions about scenarios
Scenario Development Frameworks
- The Shell Global Scenarios approach
- 2x2 matrix-based scenario construction
- Identifying critical uncertainties and driving forces
- Three Horizons model for future transformation and disruption
Scenario Construction and Assessment
- Building coherent scenario narratives
- Ensuring internal logic and plausibility
- Identifying scenario implications for strategy, policy, and risk
- Applying scenarios to long-term planning and investment decisions
Day 4: Advanced Foresight Tools for Strategy and Decision-Making
Expert-Based and Analytical Methods
- Delphi method: structured expert insight for future assessment
- Cross-impact analysis: identifying interdependencies among trends
- Causal layered analysis (CLA): exploring deeper worldviews and system assumptions
Foresight Tools for Strategic Evaluation
- Backcasting: designing pathways from future visions to present actions
- Wind-tunneling: evaluating the robustness of current strategies
- Stress-testing strategic assumptions under multiple future conditions
- Using foresight to support innovation, policy, and risk management
Integrating Foresight into Decision-Making
- Linking foresight outcomes to strategic planning cycles
- Evaluating strategic options under uncertainty
- Using foresight within governance and leadership processes
Day 5: Building a Foresight-Driven Organisation
Institutionalising Foresight Practice
- Designing foresight functions, roles, and governance frameworks
- Foresight maturity models: assessing organisational readiness
- Creating future-monitoring systems, dashboards, and early-warning indicators
Communicating Future Insights
- Best practices for presenting foresight outcomes to senior leaders
- Visualisation tools for futures intelligence
- Ensuring foresight informs policy, investment, and strategic design
Embedding Foresight into Culture and Strategy
- Integrating foresight into innovation, transformation, and risk management units
- Building internal capacity through training and capability development
- Developing a long-term foresight roadmap tailored to organisational needs
Final Strategic Synthesis
- Translating insights into strategic recommendations
- Aligning foresight with organisational priorities, national visions, or sector strategies
Establishing next steps for implementation and continuous future monitoring
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ACCREDITATION
EuroMaTech is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website: www.NASBARegistry.org.
Euromatech is a Knowledge & Human Development Authority (KHDA) approved training institute in Dubai, licensed and approved to deliver training courses in the UAE.
The KHDA is the regulatory authority in the UAE, that oversees administering, approving, supervising, and controlling the activities of various education providers in the UAE. We are proud of our commitment to ensuring quality training courses and status as a KHDA-approved training provider.
FAQ
This course helps professionals understand how to anticipate disruption, analyse long-term change, and make future-ready strategic decisions. It equips participants with practical foresight tools—such as horizon scanning, scenario building, and megatrend analysis—to strengthen resilience and guide organisational planning amid uncertainty.
Strategic foresight enhances your ability to spot early signals of change, evaluate risks and opportunities, and support leadership with informed long-term insights. It enables organisations to prepare for multiple possible futures, improve strategic agility, and reduce blind spots that commonly hinder effective decision-making.
No prior experience is required. The course begins with foundational foresight concepts before progressing to advanced tools and methods. Participants from various professional backgrounds—strategy, policy, innovation, or risk—can easily follow the structure and apply the approaches in their work.
Participants learn a wide range of foresight tools including STEEP/PESTEL analysis, trend scanning, futures wheels, cross-impact analysis, backcasting, the Delphi method, scenario development frameworks, and the Three Horizons model. Each tool is applied through exercises to ensure clear understanding and practical relevance.
Traditional forecasting focuses mainly on projecting existing trends, while this course explores uncertainty, emerging disruptions, and alternative futures. It provides structured methods for imagining multiple future scenarios and testing current strategies against them, enabling more innovative and resilient long-term decision-making.
Throughout the course, participants work on practical exercises and case-based applications that show how foresight tools connect to real strategic needs. You learn how to structure insights, communicate them effectively to leadership, and integrate foresight into planning, governance, and transformation systems.
