Next course: 28 June-2 July 2010

The current financial turmoil is not a surprise: would the application of foresight have helped to minimise its effects? Can foresight provide navigation through these turbulent times into a new era beyond 'business as usual'? The Manchester Institute of Innovation Research (MIoIR - formerly PREST)'s Eleventh Annual foresight training course will provide a concentrated and intensive, practically-orientated learning experience to prepare participants for the use of foresight to anticipate change to a new era. Participants will learn how to recognise and interpret possible future changes involving social, technological, economic, ecological, political and human values and their interdependencies. The course is aimed at people whose present or likely future position as:

  • a sponsor of foresight projects
  • a foresight practitioner
  • an entrepreneur
  • a senior manager or company director

will enable them to affect the future of business, government or Non-Governmental Organisations.

The course has a strong emphasis on the practical use of foresight. There will be parallel streams of lectures and practical work that enable participants to experience the relevance and the realities of foresight activity. The course is residential and is held in Manchester. We can extend its reach to participants in other parts of the world by video-streaming the course sessions over the Internet and by providing electronic teaching resources.

The course draws upon MIoIR's extensive experience of organising, consulting, researching and teaching/training in foresight activities across Europe, Latin America, Africa and the Far East. Direct assistance has been given to more than a dozen countries' national Foresight exercises. In research and training MIoIR has a continuing close co-operation with the EC and UNIDO. Facilitating foresight activities in public and private organisations is also a continuing feature of the Institutes work. The Institute's unique position in foresight activity has resulted in wide international participation in the course by people from: Canada, the Caribbean, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Latin America, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the Russian Federation, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, the UK and many other countries.

Structure and content

The course runs over five days and covers the following main areas:

  • Day 1: Explains how the course is structured to enable participants to influence the future roles their organisations play locally, nationally and globally. A basis for Foresight in and for a changing world will relate the influence of foresight to the creation of a world beyond business as usual characterised by power shifts, paradoxes and instability. Essential beginnings describes how the real world is made up of interdependencies between players to form continually evolving ‘situations’. Organising a formal (institutional) programme sets out how a notional formal programme is conducted.
  • Day 2: Model building with and for foresight emphasising the purpose of models that stem from thought experiments. Introduction to descriptive models and their role in foresight, including the use of influence diagrams and their interpretation; the question of boundaries and differentiating between what is and what is not important.
  • Day 3: Information/data gathering - appropriate procedures and methods What are information and data? Why are they never quite what they seem? What information/data is required for models of and for foresight? How can these be interpreted and validated?
  • Days 4 and 5: Action through scenarios and simulation to go beyond 'business as usual'. How to go about scenario building? Why scenario building is not a quick ‘back of the envelope’ task. What fundamentals are necessary? What is the relation between scenarios and models via descriptive simulation? The use of scenarios in shaping the future of an organisation.

Teaching staff

Course directors

Other teaching staff

There will also be several external speakers with distinctive foresight experience.

MIoIR and PREST

PREST became part of the Manchester Institute of Innovation Research (MIoIR), itself part of the Manchester Business School, at the time of the merger between UMIST and the University of Manchester in October 2004. The Institute's experience stems from PREST's long involvement in the foresight field, particularly since the early 1990s.

Course fee

The full residential fee is £2,500 per person and includes all the course material, accommodation for five nights (June 28 to July 2) and all meals: telephone calls, newspapers and drinks at the bar are excluded. Non-residential fees can be negotiated on application. Applications are transferable to another individual at any time otherwise the cancellation charges will apply as set out below.

Registration

Please use the downloadable registration form and return it to Lisa Gledhill by fax to +44 161-275-0923 or email lisa.gledhill@mbs.ac.uk

Cancellation charges

Cancelled course applications will incur the following charges:

  • 21 or more days before the start of the course: NIL
  • 14-20 days before the start of the course: 50%
  • 1-13 days before the start of the course: 90%
  • course start date or later: 100%

Course size

The maximum course size is 20 participants. Please note; we reserve the right to postpone or cancel the course if fewer than six people have confirmed applications three weeks before the course is scheduled to take place. In the event of the organizer cancelling the course, full refunds will be made to confirmed participants.

Course changes

We constantly seek to update and improve the scope and quality of our training. We therefore reserve the right to modify the course content without notice.

Joining instructions

Full instructions, including a course timetable and local maps, are sent to participants about three weeks before the start of the course.

Data protection

All personal data will be treated in accordance with the UK Data Protection Act 1998 and will only be used in connection with an individuals’ participation in the course.

Please note that content is based on the 2008 course and is subject to amendment.

Enquiries

To be placed on our mailing list to receive information about the next session, or for further information, please contact:

Lisa Gledhill
PA to Professor Luke Georghiou
Research Support Officer - MIoIR
Manchester Institute of Innovation Research
Manchester Business School
MBS Harold Hankins
The University of Manchester
Booth Street West
Manchester
M13 9PL, UK

Tel: +44 (0) 161 275 5921
Fax: +44 (0) 161 275 0923
Email: lisa.gledhill@mbs.ac.uk