The Power of Networks in Foresight: Lessons from Aotearoa New Zealand

by James Balzer

Complexity requires diverse participation 

Foresight isn’t about predicting the future. Rather, it’s about anticipating it - interrogating the unknown-unknowns and the ambiguity of long-term scenario mapping and horizon scanning. 

But importantly, foresight is also not just about anticipating the future—it’s about shaping it. 

However, shaping the future requires robust collaboration and networks. Complex problems require diverse perspectives and the robust experimentation of ideas. 

The Association of Professional Futurists (APF) Oceania webinar on 2 April 2025, featuring Victoria Mulligan from Aotearoa New Zealand, explored how foresight networks and ecosystems influence long-term thinking and transformative change. The discussion shed light on the importance of collaboration, inclusivity, and accessibility in the field of foresight. 

Why do networks matter in foresight?

In foresight work, the strength of networks determines the diversity of insights and the reach of long-term impact. Networks act as a bridge between different communities, facilitating the exchange of ideas and approaches.

While foresight seems to be a growing field, there is always a risk that networks of foresight practitioners become siloed and disconnected. Such a risk could undermine the very spirit of transformative foresight - being the collaborative, collective identification of complex problems for long-term systemic change. 

While a small country, New Zealand is a seriously strong example of how to do foresight networks well - being a tight-knit connected foresight community, that is also on the cutting edge of non-western futures epistemologies. 

Victoria very clearly illustrated the innovative nature of New Zealand’s foresight community. Specifically, Victoria pointed out a great foresight networking tool in action - The Aotearoa Futures Network Map. 

Through this, the nodes and branches for foresight collaboration are easy to identify, creating space of collaboration and impact. 

In the context of New Zealand, this reveals both areas of strong collaboration (such as Christchurch) and also improves collaboration in areas like Auckland, where historically foresight practitioners were siloed.his kind of mapping enables better integration of diverse voices and highlights opportunities for greater connectivity in the field.

Players and power in foresight - risks and opportunities

Foresight is most effective when different skill sets come together. The field benefits from a mix of strategists, creatives, systems thinkers, and community leaders who can work across complex issues. While that is great in-principle, there is a strong risk that managerial thinking becomes too dominant in foresight practice, which in most cases, does not lead to transformative change.

As such, Victoria’s webinar explored the debate and concerns around futures being controlled by a select few people from particular backgrounds. Failure to address this risks foresight literacy being ‘gate-kept’ by a handful of perspectives and worldviews. 

The webinar explored how instead of rigid professional pathways, foresight should be democratised, recognising expertise in multiple forms—including traditional knowledge, community-driven insights, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Victoria highlighted an example of where genuinely diverse foresight collaboration occurred through Design Futures Aotearoa, which organised a co-design event focused on what a good ecosystem looks like, and offered it to a community of foresight practitioners. This importantly brought together government, business and civil society foresight practitioners, from a range of different epistemologies. 

However, mapping foresight networks is just the first step—the critical question that follows is: “So what?” How can futures mapping lead to real, transformative action?

Transformative action through foresight networks 

The question of “so what?” or “now what?” is an important yet tricky question in foresight. 

As humans, individually and collectively, we are really not good at thinking beyond short-term expedient interests. So bringing together networks to actually design transformative action and change is often not within human nature. 

In Victoria’s webinar, we focused on this challenge in the context of political and policy spheres - whose appetite for foresight comes and goes depending on the political flavour of the day. At the end of the day, policy design and implementation is too-often parameterised by political cycles. 

One of the prospective solutions we discussed was the need for framing certain issues through the lens of the politically salient issues of a time, heightening interest from policy and civil society actors. In this sense, transforming collective foresight into policymaking can be a matter of leveraging ‘policy windows.’ Once we get traction via a policy window, how can we springboard into long-term transformative change? 

But Victoria also pointed out this same principle applies to community actors and community interests. Policy windows can be ascertained through collaborative foresight, which provides that metaphorical springboard for long-term systemic change. This might include climate resilience, community well-being, or economic transitions—rather than focusing purely on technical foresight tools.

However, while large foresight networks can foster diverse perspectives, they also come with challenges—specifically, the difficulty of forming meaningful, deep connections among members. Change happens at the speed of trust, and finding a balance between inclusivity and effectiveness is key, because without that deeper collaboration, there is a risk that ideating and springboarding into the future becomes brittle and incoherent. 

Final thoughts: networks as the key to an inclusive foresight future

Victoria Mulligan demonstrated some very clear points - the experience of Aotearoa New Zealand highlights the immense potential of foresight networks to drive long-term change. By ensuring inclusivity, fostering meaningful connections, and making foresight accessible beyond elite circles, we can create a future that is shaped by many, not just a few.

While there are challenges in foresight networks, they have numerous benefits. 

This is because the future is not predetermined—it is built through the connections we make today. Let’s ensure that those connections are strong, diverse, and open to all.