Foresight and Futures Initiative

Helping Philanthropy Innovate, Envision, and Build a Better Future

Change is the new normal, and philanthropy needs to catch up. How do we not only cope with change but proactively anticipate the challenges and opportunities, and shape our capabilities, strategies, and interventions accordingly? How do we hone a long-view lens that is not beholden to the events and assumptions of today but is driven by the observed trends, patterns, and imagination? How do we democratize who shapes, defines, and drives the future?

Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors’ two-year global Foresight & Futures Community of Practice for senior foundation leaders seeks to answer these and other questions in order to help philanthropy institutionalize best practices offered by the disciplines of foresight and futurism.

The initiative’s work will include convenings, research and thought leadership production. Participation of historically marginalized communities and nonprofit partners will be a central feature of this Community of Practice.

Rising to the Challenge Requires New Mindsets and Pathways for Impact

Change is already here, and action cannot be delayed. Philanthropy’s traditional ways of approaching strategy and intervention often ineffectively address existential threats. It must develop sharper futures-thinking and longer-term strategic trajectories. Accomplishing this requires igniting organizational imagination through a “Foresight & Futures” mindset, which offers a structured, systematic way of using data, analysis, scenario planning, and other information to understand what is coming next and design adaptable solutions.