Strategic foresight is a disciplined process of stepping outside the limits of the present to systematically explore the full range of plausible futures, both opportunities and threats, rather than simply projecting today’s capabilities forward, as traditional planning does. For the industrial sector, it is valuable because global experience shows that sectors which organize collectively, build a shared long-term vision, and bring it to policymakers can shape their own competitiveness.
The process unfolds in four stages: (1) scanning megatrends and change factors through research and expert interviews; (2) building and testing scenarios in structured workshops; (3) clustering scenarios into shared visions of success “horizons”; and (4) defining concrete sector-level levers for action. The results give an industry a clear, common destination decades ahead and a practical roadmap of near-term actions; helping companies, associations, and governments align around one future everyone recognizes.
