Purpose – This essay aims to introduce horizon scanning as an approach fundamental to most foresight studies. Design/methodology/approach – The essay combines a general review of the topic with an overview of a range of horizon‐scanning approaches that are in use in the UK health system....

Purpose – The objective of this paper is to present an example on how futures studies methodologies, especially backcasting, can be used to assist public policy formulation. Backcasting is particularly interesting method in this context, since it allows the key characteristics concerning the...

Purpose – This paper addresses a challenging topic, which in both academic and professional literatures has been widely discussed but mainly from one single angle – that is, how to select foresight methods. From that point of view researchers and consultants promote (even if unintentionally)...

Purpose – Web‐based information retrieval offers the potential to exploit a vast, continuously updated and widely available repository of emerging information to support horizon scanning and scenario development. However, the ability to continuously retrieve the most relevant documents from...

Purpose – Drawing on changes in the nature of European metropolitan development planning in general, and the example of the Randstad, in particular, the purpose of this paper is to argue for an improved interconnectedness between regions and their public and private sector agencies. These...

Purpose – Following the neo‐liberal trend of less government intervention and more room for market forces, the introduction of private sector models in the public or non‐profit sector has gained a lot of attention and popularity. This has also been the case in several European non‐profit...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the economy of Persian Gulf countries following a post‐oil economy. This is accompanied with a futurology study and planning of certain scenarios that can be applied to these countries. Design/methodology/approach – This study applies a...

Purpose – Macro‐environmental scanning is a first step in strategic planning, which is essential in an emerging industry such as liquid biofuels. The purpose of this paper is to identify the dimensions within which the governments of Brazil, the USA and Germany have constructed the...