Scotland 2030: Our Economy
Having explored the challenges provided by the technological revolution and climate change in its first two events in 2017, the Futures Forum heard from Dr Jamie Coleman, chair and co-founder of Codebase, and Dr Katherine…
A Civilised Nation? Project Overview
The French philosopher Voltaire is quoted as saying in the 1760s that “We look to Scotland for all our ideas of civilisation”. What did that mean then, and what might it mean today and in the…
The Future and Me: Living in Tomorrow’s World
What does the future hold for young people? What do they think will happen? This video from 2017 explores what inventions we might see by 2030.
Fit Home: the Future of Housing and Health
This informal reception introduced guests to the main concepts behind Fit Home, a unique partnership between housing, NHS Highland and social enterprise, which, supported by academic research, showcases a collaborative solution to wellness in the…
Future Schooling, Education and Learning: The Economic Context
Scotland 2030: Goodison Group in Scotland Forum Debate On 5 September 2017, the Goodison Group in Scotland and the Futures Forum continued their on-going investigation into education and learning in the future with a debate…
Bananas, the Leaning Tower of Pisa and Scotland’s Environment
By Dr Steph Smith, Scotland’s Rural College and @ScienceSeaweed Humans are curious creatures. Not in the sense that we are random assemblages of cells which share about 50% of our DNA with a banana; but curious…
Our Environment in 2030
A healthy society and culture depends on a healthy environment. This project explores how Scotland’s environment might change over the coming years and how our relationship with it will and should change at the same…
Data and Politics: Comparative Agendas Project 10th Anniversary Conference
This reception marked the 10th anniversary of the Comparative Agendas Project, a worldwide network of political and data scientists working to investigate trends in government, parliamentary and legal activity over time.
Future Schooling, Education and Learning: Our Aspirations [2]
Scotland 2030: Goodison Group in Scotland Forum Debate Read the Education in 2030 – Our Aspirations Event Report The Goodison Group in Scotland continued its on-going investigation into education and learning in the future with…
Economy, ecology, aesthetics: competing interests in the land
By Eleanore Widger, University of Dundee and @Nell Widger Earlier this year the Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA) and Mountaineering Scotland made an unlikely alliance in opposition to government plans to plant thousands of new trees. According to the…
How resilient and well-functioning will Scotland’s environment be?
As part of the Scotland 2030 Programme, and on the basis that a strong society and economy can exist in the long term only if the environment – land, air and water – are functioning…
Enlightenment Scotland: a “civilised nation”?
By Nicola Martin, University of Stirling and @NicolaMartin14 “We look to Scotland for all our ideas of civilisation.” This summary of a quotation from French Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire is commonly used by commentators who wish…
Rugged, remote, rocky: Scotland and the Romantic imagination
By Eleanore Widger, University of Dundee and @NellWidger A curious thing happened in Scotland during the Romantic period: vast numbers of tourists from Britain, Europe and elsewhere used new road networks and steam packet routes to access the…
Technology: the driving force of human civilisation?
The first line of an article I read this morning proclaimed that: “Technology has driven human civilisation for thousands of years.” [1] Businessman Mukesh Ambani was discussing the opportunities for India to become a world…
Civilisation: a question of terminology
By Nicola Martin, University of Stirling and @NicolaMartin14 5 April 2017 Before we consider what various stakeholders understand by the notion of a civilised nation or civilisation in the present, and even before we consider…
Scotland’s landscapes: natural or naturalised
By Eleanore Widger, University of Dundee and @NellWidger 13 April 2017 Something has troubled me as I’ve progressed through my internship thinking about Scotland’s relationship to landscape. My research background in the Environmental Humanities has taught me to be…
Scotland 2030 Programme: Launch
Scotland’s Futures Forum – the Scottish Parliament’s in-house think tank – launched its Scotland 2030 programme on Wednesday 29 March 2017. Billed as an exploration of Scotland’s culture and society, the programme will ask what…
News from 2030 by Karine Polwart
As part of the launch of our Scotland 2030 Programme in March 2017, we asked award-winning folk singer, songwriter and essayist Karine Polwart (@IAMKP) to reflect on the cultural implications for our society from technological change. In…
Scotland 2030: The Technological Context
This debate with Karine Polwart and Chris van der Kuyl in March 2017 explored the effect technological innovation would have on life in Scotland.
Betty Bags a Booker by Karine Polwart
An imagined news story from 2030 by Karine Polwart. Written in 2017, “Betty Bags a Booker” reflects on the effect of automation on our society and culture.
A Digital Haven by Karine Polwart
An imagined news story from 2030 by Karine Polwart. Written in 2017, “A Digital Haven” reflects on the mixed effect of technology on Scotland’s rural areas.
Karmic Payback by Karine Polwart
An imagined news story from 2030 by Karine Polwart. Written in 2017, “Karmic Payback” reflects on the role of apps and personal data in our health and wellbeing.
Future Schooling, Education and Learning: Our Aspirations [1]
Scotland 2030: Goodison Group in Scotland Forum Debate Read the Education in 2030: Our Aspirations – Event Report To kick off its investigation into education and learning in the future, the Goodison Group in Scotland…
Glaciation and imagination
By Eleanore Widger, University of Dundee and @NellWidger I began my last post by describing the view from my Futures Forum desk. Looking past my computer towards Arthur’s Seat and Salisbury Crags, I received what Neal Ascherson describes…
Scotland 2030: Greetings from another Futures Fellow
By Nicola Martin, University of Stirling and @NicolaMartin14 Whilst the current view from my window is not as symbolic as Eleanore’s (I’m currently working from home rather than the Parliament), I too found my thinking for…
Scotland 2030: Greetings from a Futures Fellow
By Eleanore Widger, University of Dundee and @NellWidger As I write this I can see, to the right of my computer screen, the gorse-covered north-west side of an extinct volcano, a huge slab of rock…
New Kid on the Block
By Rob Littlejohn, Head of Business at Scotland’s Futures Forum Although I’ve titled this blogpost “New kid on the block”, I can’t pretend that I’m that new, having been in the privileged position of Head of…
Digital Democracy: Opportunities and Challenges for Scotland
Seminar with Nesta Scotland in February 2017 on what Scotland can learn from digital democracy pioneers throughout Europe.
Automation in the Scottish Economy
The growing level of automation in Scotland’s economy and the implications for our workforce was the subject of a Scotland’s Futures Forum’s Breakfast Seminar in 2017. Hosted by Richard Leonard MSP on behalf of the…
Fostering Cultures of Innovation
Workshop in November 2016 to support the SUII programme on Fostering Cultures of Innovation, featuring video presentations of each project.
Intergenerational Learning
With Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials all sharing the workplace, this forum debate in September 2016 focused on intergenerational learning.
Equity and Scottish Education
If we look over the horizon to 2020, what would an equitable education look like? This GGiS forum in September 2015 focused on equity in education and improving attainment.
Technology as a learning environment
This forum debate with the Goodison Group in Scotland in March 2015 explored learning environments, with a focus on technology.
IRISS – Imagining the Future Scenarios
What will community, support and social services mean and look like in 2025? Imagining the Future Scenarios There is absolutely no reason to expect that by 2025 social services in Scotland will look the same…
Business Succession: the sustainability of family businesses and SMEs
New research reveals up to £1.23 billion tax gain by increasing the number of successfully transferred SMEs and Family Businesses in Scotland Research demonstrates how SMEs and Family Businesses can significantly grow the Scottish economy….
By 2025, Scotland will be regarded as a world-leading learning nation
As part of Scotland’s Futures Forum strategic link with the Goodison Group in Scotland in the area of learning and skills, our organisations undertook a project on Scotland as a world-leading learning nation. This ambitious…
Realising the Potential of Engaged Universities
The Edinburgh Beltane Beacon for Public Engagement held an event on 15 June 2011, focusing on ‘Realising the Potential of Engaged Universities’.
The Oxfam Humankind Index for Scotland
Report from a conversation café in June 2011 held as part of the development of the Oxfam Humankind Index.
Facing up to Climate Change
In early March 2011, Scotland’s Futures Forum along with Edinburgh Beltane hosted two seminars to consider the findings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s report ‘Facing up to climate change: breaking the barriers to a…
Women in Prison
Increasing numbers of women are being imprisoned in Scotland (and other comparable jurisdictions), and this cannot be explained by rates of offending or changes in the nature of offences. The Scottish Universities Insight Institute recently…
Social Impact Bonds
Seminar in November 2010 with public, private and voluntary sectors on an innovative way of funding solutions to social problems.
The Future of British Sign Language in an Inclusive Scotland
As part of the 2010-11 seminar series, in partnership with Edinburgh Beltane, a Futures Forum was held on 15 November 2010 bringing together around 70 delegates to explore what is understood by ‘an inclusive Scotland…
Scotland: Sustainable Communities in 2030
A scenario project from 2010 examining what sustainable communities might look like in Scotland in 2030. Features report and scenarios video.
The Future of Edinburgh’s Cultural Sector
In 2010, Scotland’s Futures Forum and the City of Edinburgh Council’s Culture and Sport Division engaged in a short-term project to explore the future of the city’s arts and culture sector. The purpose of the…
Scotland’s Public Finances
Project in 2010 looking at challenges to Scotland’s public finances from budget constraints, technological change and shifting relationships.
Low Carbon Scotland Report
Futures Forum seminar in March 2010 on realising a low carbon economy. Key messages include a lack of systemic policy making and Scotland’s unique opportunities
National Trust for Scotland: a Sustainable Future
A futures discussion paper on the National Trust for Scotland produced in 2010 for the Reid Review.
What might a Scottish welfare system look like in 2020?
Seminar in September 2009 on what might a Scottish welfare system look like in 2020? With Swedish expert Prof Joakim Palme
Poverty and Inequalities in Scotland
Conference in May 2009 on poverty and inequalities in Scotland. A decade after devolution, what has improved and what are the priorities for the future?
Approaches to Alcohol and Drugs in Scotland – A Question of Architecture
Report from 2008 from a project on how we can reduce the damage caused by alcohol and drug misuse by half by 2025.
Growing Older and Wiser Together
Report from 2007 from a futures project taking a positive approach to an ageing society. Includes key questions and three scenarios for discussion