Date/Time
Date(s) - 01/07/2025
14:30 - 18:30
Categories
Applying foresight thinking and methods to evaluation practice – are you ready for the future?
Facilitated by Annette L Gardner, PhD, MPH
Date & Time
- Date: 1 July 2025
- Time: 14h30 CEST
- Duration: 4 hours
Workshop Description
The past few years have demonstrated that our economy, climate, politics, and social order can change much faster than in past decades, resulting in significant uncertainty and disruption. For our evaluation clients, it is no longer enough to reflect on the past in our program evaluation designs–it provides too rosy an outlook that is out of touch with current reality. Foresight or the ability to use futures methods to inform strategy and decision-making, provides a rigorous and proven set of tools to perceive, make sense of, and act upon ideas about the future. In this Workshop, participants will learn some of the key foresight models and methods that can be readily adapted to evaluation practice, such as The Futures Triangle, Horizon Scanning, the Futures Wheel and Wind Tunnelling in alternative scenarios.
Workshop Learning Outcomes:
By the end of the workshop participants will have:
- An understanding of key foresight principles.
- A broadened evaluation practice that is forward-thinking and aware of different types of change-drivers such as trends, weak signals and wild cards.
- An expanded participant evaluation methods ‘toolkit’ to include 3 foresight methods – Horizon Scanning, Futures Wheel and Wind Tunnelling in alternative scenarios
Agenda 14h30 to 18h30 CEST
- 14h30 CEST – 15h30 (1 hour): Introductions, Aims, Benefits of Foresight to Evaluation, Foresight Principles and Models (3 Horizons, Futures Triangle, STEEP)
- 15h30 – 16h30 (1 hour): Foresight Methods – Horizon Scanning
- 16h30 – 16h45 (15-minutes): Break
- 16h45 – 17h30 (45-minutes): Foresight Methods – Trends and the Futures Wheel
- 17h30 – 18h15 (45-minutes): Alternative Scenarios and Wind Tunnelling
- 18h15 – 18h30 (15-minutes): Wrap-up, Applying Foresight to Evaluation Practice
Workshop Structure and Activities
In this workshop, Dr. Gardner will use a 4-part format that is a combination of lecture, imaginative games, and group exercises. For the most part, the workshop is a series of exercises done in break-out groups of 2 to 5 people. To demonstrate the application of foresight tools, we will use the case of an evaluation of a program to build community gardens in urban areas. Also, throughout the Workshop, participants will map the foresight models and methods—Horizon Scanning, Futures Wheel, and Wind Tunnelling–on to a typical evaluation design and discuss how they can bolster the development and testing of a Theory of Change, data collection, informing strategy, etc. Last, we will discuss recent evaluation cases that include foresight methods.
For the Wrap-up, participants will reflect on the Workshop and the implications for their practice, including their desired level of foresight competence, resources, and next seps.
Post-workshop follow-up: Similar to previous EES Workshops, Dr. Gardner will schedule up to two, one-hour zoom sessions with workshop participants. These are optional and are an opportunity to ask questions and discuss individual participants’ application of foresight in their practice or departments.
Target Audience
Because we will discuss ways that foresight can be embedded in evaluation design, participants will need to be conversant with evaluation theory and practice, e.g., evaluation questions, design, process, etc. but none necessarily with foresight or futures thinking
Speaker Information
Annette L Gardner, PhD, MPH, is a Principal at ALGardner Consulting. A political scientist, she is an evaluator in the advocacy and policy change space. A futurist, she was the Chair of the APF Foresight Evaluation Initiative and co-authored the BetterEvaluation foresight evaluation toolkit and a guide for evaluators new to foresight. She co-edited and contributed to the New Directions for Evaluation issue on foresight evaluation.
Workshop Fees:
- EES Members – 180 Euros
- Non member – 230 Euros
- Plus same discretion as previously for people whose euro exchange rate makes participation impossible at regular pricing.
Group Discounts available on request
To book your tickets for this event online, click here.