Foresight: 5 key activities
Identify emerging change;
Critique the impacts of change;
Imagine alternative futures;
Envision preferred futures;
Notes:
As a futures researcher, I do not presume to claim any expertise in either the esoterica or the everyday aspects of your profession -- aside from my own nodding acquaintance with libraries as a user.
What I can offer is information about changes occurring in the wider world, information which the logistical and administrative brush fires you face everyday prevent you from collecting and monitoring. Yet changes in the wider world will inevitably ricochet inwards to affect your profession, your organization, and your work.
As a futurist, I spend a lot of time hunting change -- looking for potential sources of change: either some new arising in the world, or signs that something old is disappearing. I then ask who benefits and who loses as a result: who gains more power, and who is marginalized? How will the impacts of change interact to create the fabric of alternative possible futures, and how can I help people explore the extent of those possibilities? Given the uncertainty in our changing environment, what would we prefer to happen -- what are our best dreams of what the future should be? Finally, how do we daydream effectively, and bridge from the preferred to action?