Strategic foresight for the COVID-19 crisis and beyond: Using futures thinking to design better public policies

The COVID-19 crisis has shaken the world, setting in motion cascading waves of change with a wide range of possible trajectories. While it is impossible to predict the future, strategic foresight offers the tools for successful policy making in the face of high uncertainty. This involves exploring and preparing for a diversity of possible developments in order to future-proof strategies, identify new potential opportunities and challenges, and design innovative ways of improving well-being under rapidly evolving circumstances. This document is a resource to help governments and organizations use foresight in their policy making related to COVID-19 and its aftermath. It presents key uncertainties and possible future developments that could have short-and medium-term policy implications, a preliminary guide for using these elements, and an annotated selection of foresight pieces from a variety of authors. Strategic foresight for the COVID-19 crisis and beyond: Using futures thinking to design better public policies