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The Futures Forum offers an innovative approach to knowledge exchange on current policy topics. This event-based methodology distinctively employs futures thinking, engaging stakeholders from diverse sectors with probing questions like “what if?” and “so what?” These inquiries encourage deeper dives into interlinkages and long-term implications, fostering the sharing of expertise and discovery of interconnections.
Creating effective spaces for knowledge exchange between researchers and policy communities presents significant challenges. Stakeholders, often from varied institutions and with languages and behavioural norms frequently face pressures to produce immediate answers and results. Furthermore, their involvement in events is typically characterised by diverging agendas and grapples with different uncertainties.
In response, we developed the Futures Forum to bridge these gaps in needs, expertise and alleviate pressures, emphasising the value of collective insight. Our aim was to establish more inclusive environments, particularly for early-career researchers less familiar with policy engagement, enabling them to contribute on equal footing with seasoned experts. Recognising the substantial pressures all participants face, we designed the Futures Forum to be a flexible and adaptable model suitable for a broad range of policy issues.
After refining our approach through multiple applications across various policy challenges from 2023 to 2024, we created the Futures Forum Toolkit. This resource is designed to extend our methodology to a broader audience, empowering them to independently organize impactful Futures Forum events. The Toolkit includes a separate, editable document featuring supportive artifacts that organisers can easily adapt and utilise as required.
Access the Futures Forum Event Report: Health Inequalities here.