In order to think about the future and bring it to life, Futures in Action emphasizes the practical and pragmatic dimensions of foresight. This book makes it possible to develop a vision of the future, to anticipate significant changes and pinpoint the weak areas. Foresight helps to rally players around a common vision, influence strategic decisions, and inspire innovation and organizational transformation. Futures in Action brings together the expertise of contributors from a wide range of public and private organizations. The diversity of their contributions puts into perspective the implementation of foresight both in France and worldwide. Exploring the major lessons and questions to come, this book is for all those who are convinced of the need to anticipate and build the future by taking action today.

Table of Contents:
Author Presentation xiii Introduction xxiii Carine Dartiguepeyrou And Michel Saloff-Coste Part 1 The Foresight of Futurists 1 Chapter 1 How to Build Futures Consciousness and Resilience for Operational Foresight 3 Sirkka Heinonen 1.1 Introduction 3 1.2 Choice of approaches and methods for foresight in practice 4 1.3 Futures mean change – where and how to look for futures signals to build up futures resilience 7 Chapter 2 A Strategic Foresight Framework for Anticipating Uncertainties in Tourism Industry 11 Fawaz Abu Sitta 2.1 Introduction 11 2.2 Strategic planning versus strategic foresight 12 2.3 Uncertainty management framework 14 2.3.1 Framing 14 2.3.2 Understanding 15 2.3.3 Exploring 17 2.3.4 Realizing 19 2.3.5 Designing 24 2.3.6 Shaping 26 2.4 Recommendations 26 Chapter 3 Generative AI in the Newsroom: The Future of Journalism and Media 29 Sylvia Gallusser 3.1 Becoming a professional futurist 29 3.1.1 Career paths to becoming a futurist 29 3.1.2 From anxiety to driving force 31 3.1.3 Creating a professional foresight research practice 32 3.2 In action: applying foresight in action with a group of European journalists 34 3.2.1 Context of the request 34 3.2.2 A program of foresight in action 35 3.2.3 Challenges and key learnings 38 Chapter 4 Leading a New Path with Foresight in China 41 Lynn Lin And Bin Hu 4.1 Foresight’s value is gradually being seen 41 4.2 Foresight practice demands a leap of faith 43 4.3 Fostering futures thinking as the foundation 44 4.4 Navigating foresight with patience and agility 45 4.5 Charting new business landscape in China with foresight 47 Chapter 5 Creating Desirable Futures 49 Carine Dartiguepeyrou 5.1 The specifics of foresight in action 49 5.1.1 Strategic foresight 50 5.1.2 Foresight questioning 51 5.1.3 Revisiting the foresight triangle 51 5.2 The futurist’s tools: between tradition and innovation 52 5.2.1 The futurist’s range 52 5.2.2 Monitoring 52 5.2.3 Shared challenges 53 5.3 Sociocultural foresight 55 5.3.1 The importance of values 55 5.3.2 Bias or futurist culture? 56 5.3.3 A cultural paradigm shift? 56 5.4 Personal considerations 57 5.4.1 An affinity for alterity and singularity 57 5.4.2 Uniting across divisions 58 Part 2 Foresight for Companies and Public Institutions 61 Chapter 6 Foresight at Michelin: Evidence and Reflections 63 Gaël Quéinnec 6.1 The empirical meeting of new needs and qualifying resources 63 6.1.1 Collective foresight based on an influence approach 63 6.1.2 Reorganization creates a need to build visions 64 6.2 A predisposing career path 64 6.2.1 Training in the humanities 64 6.2.2 A career in strategic marketing 64 6.2.3 Operational and international legitimacy 65 6.3 My training in foresight 65 6.3.1 My main trainers and mentors: a bibliographical overview 65 6.4 Accelerators for a change in scale 66 6.4.1 First marker: the trend radar 66 6.4.2 Second marker: sustainable development metascenarios (SHAPES) 67 6.4.3 The increasing emergence of foresight in the company as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and other crises 68 6.5 Duty to warn, blind spot researcher, mental agility agent: what is the mission for Michelin foresight? 68 6.5.1 Purpose: preparing for the field of possibilities 68 6.5.2 What are the observable impacts? 69 6.5.3 The difficulty of assessing foresight 70 6.6 What deliverables? 71 6.6.1 For and with the intern 71 6.6.2 With external partners, according to a graduated scale of involvement, ranging from crossing visions to criticizing strategic marketing 71 6.7 What methods and resources? 71 6.7.1 Foresight requires a wide range of thinking and specific methods 71 6.7.2 Potential and experience 72 Chapter 7 Bouygues Construction, Committed to a Desirable Future 73 Virginie Alonzi 7.1 Context 73 7.2 Foresight at Bouygues Construction 74 7.2.1 The creation and missions of the foresight department 74 7.2.2 Our approach 74 Chapter 8 Brand Heritage, a Catalyst for Innovation and Transformation 79 Cecilia Ercoli 8.1 Introduction, the mission – what foresight? 79 8.2 Practice – which approach? 80 8.2.1 Methodologies used 80 8.2.2 More concretely, what kind of organization? What kind of project design? 81 8.3 Organic governance – how does the emergence of creation and innovation cope with the organization’s approval processes? 84 Chapter 9 Decathlon Perspectives: Shaping the Future with Collective Intelligence 87 Audrey Hespel 9.1 An explorer of possible and desirable futures 87 9.2 Decathlon’s various foresight experiments 88 9.3 Obstacles to avoid when using foresight 89 9.4 Tools and sources of inspiration 90 9.5 Potential disruptions and future trends 91 Chapter 10 Foresight at the Centre National d’Études Spatiales 93 Sébastien Lombard 10.1 Foresight methodologies and practices 94 10.2 Memory and foresight monitoring 96 10.3 Foresight and action 97 10.4 Influences for tomorrow 99 Part 3 Foresight at Universities 101 Chapter 11 From Founding Institution to Collaborative Foresight at the Université Catholique de Lille 103 Jean-Marc Assié And Louis-Marie Clouet 11.1 The founding institution of a forward-looking university 103 11.2 Foresight based on experimentation and innovation 104 11.2.1 Where “rapid transitions” cross ethics 104 11.2.2 Foresight of innovative ecosystems 105 11.2.3 Design, creativity and foresight 106 11.2.4 ECOPOSS “Osons l’éloge du futur” 106 11.3 The paradoxes of foresight 108 11.3.1 Short or long-term resource allocation? 108 11.3.2 Illegitimate foresight with regard to academic requirements? 108 11.3.3 How do you train in foresight? 109 11.4 “Embedded” foresight to serve the university’s missions 109 11.4.1 Reinforcing the teaching of foresight 109 11.4.2 Reinforcing the contribution of futures in action, in support of the university’s strategy 110 11.4.3 The coherent choice of a “work in progress” and collaborative approach 111 Chapter 12 Operational Foresight at the University of Strasbourg 113 Audrey Kost 12.1 Introduction 113 12.2 The foresight and strategy mission 113 12.3 Three key players in foresight at the University of Strasbourg 115 12.3.1 Catherine Florentz, Vice-President of foresight and strategic actions 115 12.3.2 Audrey Kost, Director of the foresight and strategy mission 116 12.3.3 Julien Weber, Strategy Consultant 117 12.4 Foresight at the University of Strasbourg 117 12.4.1 Practice at all levels 117 12.4.2 An approach that began with major projects 118 12.4.3 A dedicated department for an organic link between foresight and strategy 119 12.4.4 A first presidency seminar 119 12.5 In search of dedicated time 120 12.6 Monitoring and key sources 120 Chapter 13 Using Foresight to Drive Transformation: Building a Strategy After a Merger 121 Pauline Innegraeve 13.1 Shaking up the status quo 121 13.2 Filling in the gaps 122 13.2.1 Initial actions 122 13.2.2 Academic influences 123 13.3 Embarking on a journey in foresight 123 13.4 The risks of the journey 124 13.5 One pit stop before a new beginning 125 13.6 Any candidates for the journey? 128 13.7 The map room 130 Part 4 Local Authority Foresight 133 Chapter 14 Foresight and Public Action: The Case of Greater Lyon 135 Pierre Houssais 14.1 A basic question of public action: “where are we going?” 135 14.1.1 First experience in Saint-Étienne: political foresight to persuade 136 14.1.2 Grand Lyon: making foresight a cross-disciplinary tool for public action 137 14.2 A culture of foresight unique to the Lyon Metropolis 138 14.2.1 An old and still agile service 138 14.2.2 The common good rather than commonplace 141 Chapter 15 Rev3: A Regional Dynamic Combining Foresight and Action 143 Frédéric Motte 15.1 Introduction: qualifying rev3 143 15.2 Back to basics: Jeremy Rifkin’s master plan 144 15.3 Foresight and program documents to mark the life of rev3 146 15.4 Foresight and strategic documents as a general framework for action 148 Chapter 16 Isère 2030: Isère’s Administrative Project 151 Séverine Battin 16.1 Serving the public 151 16.1.1 From social worker to head of local authority 151 16.1.2 The local authority, a local community 152 16.2 Foresight, a necessity for local communities 152 16.2.1 An uncertain and complex environment 152 16.2.2 Changing perspective 152 16.2.3 Collectively preparing for change 153 16.3 Implementing the approach 154 16.3.1 An exploratory approach for the community 154 16.3.2 Staying alert: foresight monitoring 156 16.4 Foresight in the present 157 16.4.1 “Isère 2030”, the backbone of the administrative project 157 16.4.2 Spreading the culture of foresight 158 16.4.3 Appropriation by teams, a catalyst for change 159 16.4.4 Conditions for success and obstacles 159 Chapter 17 Social Cohesion and Solidarity in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques in 2040 161 Jean-Jacques Lasserre 17.1 Territorial foresight initiated by Jean-Jacques Lasserre, President of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques 161 17.1.1 A process led by elected representatives 161 17.1.2 The process of choosing the foresight question 162 17.2 A participatory foresight approach 167 17.2.1 A futures in action participatory workshop 167 17.2.2 What next? 169 Reflection and Perspective on Foresight 171 Carine Dartiguepeyrou Conclusion 179 Michel Saloff-Coste References 185 List of Authors 197 Index 199