From ageing populations and circular economy to the emergence of new payment methods, tax offices worldwide face multiple disruptive changes re-shaping their future operational environments. The Finnish Tax Administration has successfully integrated continuous foresight practice into its processes to better serve its clients.

Rapid advancements in automation and ever-increasing demand in e-commerce may soon pave the way for the wide adoption of robot and drone technologies in the last-mile delivery of products. Robot couriers have the potential to solve multiple issues associated with inefficiencies in logistics such as high labour costs, energy efficiency, and traffic congestion.

When there are no historical analogies to look back to, scenario planning can help us better understand and plan for a multitude of possible futures. In addition to enhancing efficiency, an established scenario planning process will empower organisations to proactively shape the future through strategic decision-making.

Born between 2010-2024, Generation Alpha will be the longest-living, most educated, and possibly the wealthiest generation. Growing up alongside technology since birth, their life experiences and preferences will differ significantly from earlier generations.

With the proliferation of fake news, algorithmic social media bubbles and the growing capabilities of technology to manipulate human senses, our relationship with reality is evolving. As new technologies offer increasing possibilities to curate and modify how we experience both our digital and physical surroundings, our perception of what is to be considered real may be radically reframed in the future.

As uncertainty about the future increases, wild cards and science fiction are gaining popularity among various organisations to foster future preparedness and visionary thinking. Exploring possible futures supported by free imagination is a cornerstone of versatile foresight practice.

Horizon scanning is the phase of gathering future-related knowledge, which is the first stage of the larger foresight process. It is about being vigilant concerning the changes in one’s environment. The main focus in this category of Futures intelligence is on discontinuities, emerging issues, and weak signals of change.

As populations begin to demand businesses and governments to define their success in new metrics other than financial growth and economic prosperity, new routes for future economic systems are starting to take shape.

Scenarios help to expand the time horizon, aid in looking beyond the usual extrapolations and improve thinking about the potential unexpected developments. Being descriptions of possible, probable or preferable futures, they help organisations prepare for various contingencies and plan accordingly.

Much of what we can know about the future at the present moment is based on the directions and interactions of megatrends, trends and change drivers.

COVID-19 can be heavily taxing on our mental health. Significantly increased internet use and overload of information are exhausting our attention and causing grave cognitive fatigues. Now may be the time to go offline and contemplate an unplugged future for our mental health.

The uncertainties surrounding the US elections have led to increased volatility, urging organisations in various industries to reassess their operations in the face of potential policy and regulatory shifts. Foresight methodologies offer various collaborative and interactive tools that can help organisations make sense of the key changes, manage risks and discover new opportunities.