Producing regular, comprehensive public health foresight studies is not common practice in most countries. However, driven by the substantial future demographic and societal changes that many countries face, interest in such studies is growing. The PHFS team at RIVM therefore also engages in sharing experiences and capacity building. Therefore, RIVM invests in expanding current expertise, in collaborations and in innovations.
Definition of foresight
Strategic foresight is a systematic and proactive approach to exploring and anticipating future trends, challenges, and opportunities in order to inform and guide decision-making and strategy development. It involves using a combination of tools and methods, such as scenario planning, trend analysis, and stakeholder engagement, to gain a deeper understanding of the complex and uncertain forces shaping the future, and to develop actionable insights and recommendations for organizations. There is not a broadly accepted definition of what foresight is. At RIVM, we adopted the following definition “Strategic Foresight is a systematic, participatory, future intelligence gathering and medium to long term scenario building process aimed at enabling present day decisions and mobilizing joint actions.”
INnovation in FOresight Methods (INFORM)
The main objective of INFORM is to identify, apply and evaluate innovative methods to explore the future of public health. These are methods that RIVM does not yet apply. In this way, we build future-proof and scientifically up-to-date methods and processes.
Handbook Public Health Foresight: a step-by-step guide
There is no blueprint for doing a foresight study or how and when to apply the wide variety of available foresight methods. Each topic and study has its own characteristics and research question that requires tailor-made approach. However, there are common elements in many foresight approaches. In addition, we see a growing interest in foresights studies, and with that a growing need to be guided through the various steps of doing a foresight study. Foresight having a strong craft work nature, and the lack of having a scientific discipline for foresight, leaves many puzzled in how to conduct a foresight study. Therefore, we are assimilating a handbook public health foresight that helps people who want to conduct a foresight study but are not yet completely familiar with all facets involved. This handbook will be published by RIVM in 2025.