Strategic (public health) foresight is important because it helps society and policymakers to anticipate future challenges and opportunities, rather than just reacting to problems as they arise. It can support being better prepared for emerging health risks such as pandemics, climate change effects, or new diseases before they become widespread problems. While the future is always subject to uncertainty, strategic foresight reduces surprises and helps manage risks more effectively. Therefore, it is good to apply a systematic way to look at the future.The RIVM and the Netherlands in general have a longstanding tradition of doing foresight studies. With this handbook we wish to help colleagues inside and outside the Netherlands who want to conduct a foresight study but are not yet completely familiar with all facets involved.The handbook consists of the following chapters:

Daniëlle Schiet is Director of Prevention Programmes and Public Health Upscaling.

Professor Menno de Jong, MD is the Director of the Centre for Infectious Disease Control at RIVM.

As of 1 November 2025, Oebele Tolsma is Acting Chief Financial Officer and Director of Operational Management at RIVM.

Prof. Margreet van Zanten is a senior scientific researcher in air quality at the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM). She specialises in the emission, dispersion and deposition of atmospheric substances, combining expertise in both measurements and modelling. Since February 2024, she has been appointed one day per week as Professor of Emission, Dispersion and Deposition of Atmospheric Substances at the Meteorology and Air Quality group of Wageningen University & Research.

Chantal Reusken is virologist, researcher and expert in the field of emerging viruses, with a focus on viruses that are transmitted by animals, mosquitoes, midges, sandflies and ticks. She works as top-expert Virology at the Centre for Infectious Disease Control of RIVM. Furthermore, she works as professor in “Emerging Viruses in One Health Context” at the faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Utrecht University. 

Newborn babies have a higher risk of serious consequences from flu, such as hospital admission. If the mother gets the flu vaccine during pregnancy, the baby is less likely to get the flu after being born. The flu vaccine also helps pregnant women directly. Pregnant women who have flu are more likely to need hospital admission than women of the same age who have flu and are not pregnant. The flu vaccine is safe for babies and for pregnant women.This information in multiple languages