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Foresight management

Project management
Managing a Foresight project or program means applying the same rules of good project management like any other project. Given the participatory nature of the process, there are two specific challenges:

Continuous adaptation of the process
Preserving learning

As in any project, managing time and managing people to obtain value for money are key aspects. Although timeliness is critical, time can also be viewed as a cost, a constraint, or a resource. In terms of managing people, there are different types of relationships that need to be handled in the Foresight process. The Foresight project team is the main body responsible for driving the relationships both inside the team and outside it. Perhaps the most important are those with the client, steering committee, and participants.

Participation
Foresight is intrinsically participatory. Thus, a range of participants need to be involved, making enrolling participants a key task. There are four basic aspects to be considered:

Role/functions of the various participants
Identifying participants
Engaging participants
Training participants and key stakeholders

The need for:

A steering group
Champion(s)
Project or program teams
External contractors

and their relationship with each other and the organization needs to be documented, resources mustered, and roles, milestones, and budgets agreed.

Programme management

Planning
An implementation plan and a training plan, also need to be drawn up and followed. The project management practices should be put in place to continuously observe and ensure that the resources foreseen for each project step are used effectively (as defined in the implementation plan), that work schedules are kept, and outputs actually materialize.

Quality assurance
The project needs to be monitored rigorously and quality assured:

To observe the activities during each project step and constantly compare them against the targets, milestones, and overall time-frame.
To continuously adapt the implementation plan to its environment. The knowledge gained and the active participation of stakeholders may alter the view of the project.

An upfront, well written, and regularly maintained risk assessment coupled with associated mitigation plans can avoid pitfalls later on.

Similarly, a quality assurance plan stating how this will be achieved, by who, and by when, will give confidence to the key stakeholders that deviations from expected outcomes will be corrected as they arise. Peer review of outcomes also help to ensure proof of quality work done.

Budget monitoring processes will need to be set up and expenditures managed.

An escalation procedure should be put in place defining points when variances from the plan need to be communicated to champions and sponsors.

Lastly, a reporting timetable should be agreed with the key stakeholders to appraise progress and to agree on further funding and next steps.

Further references

Next: Foresight Management Back: Futures Presentations To: Shaping Tomorrow

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sunfirejewels	Latest page update: made by sunfirejewels , Apr 19 2009, 8:41 PM EDT (about this update About This Update Edited by sunfirejewels 4 words added 4 words deleted view changes - complete history)
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Changing Futures	Foresight glossary	Future Challenges
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Foresight futures	Visual models

Foresight management

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