The Project
Welcome to the FutuRes Policy Lab!
How will labour markets respond to societal ageing? How are migration and automation going to affect demographic trends? Which policies are most likely to benefit Europe's resilience?
Policymakers have questions. FutuRes investigates the scenarios.
The FutuRes project wants to help Europe face the future with confidence. Fostering productive exchange with decision-makers is central to our work.
FutuRes is a collaborative research project and policy lab which is funded by the EU's Horizon Research and Innovation programme. The focus is on understanding the drivers of resilience in increasingly ageing societies.
What are the goals of FutuRes? By the end of 2025, FutuRes will formulate actionable policy recommendations developed with stakeholders.
What's next for FutuRes? In Fall 2024, Futures partner VDI/VDE-IT will deliver a set of qualitative scenarios for resilient European societies in demographic change. The intention of scenarios is
to describe and illustrate possible futures, as derived from scientific findings and analysis
to give stakeholders and policymakers an impression of key factors, driving forces as well as the resulting trajectories and outcomes of these possible developments
be a tool for the design of policy strategies targeting crisis resilience.
How does Scenario Building work? Qualitative Scenario Building has established itself as a significant tool in policy planning. Over the past two decades, qualitative scenario building has been a central tool in so-called "anticipatory governance" processes at the EU level and worldwide. Since the 2010s, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been using scenario building to create pathways for understanding how different emissions trajectories could impact global climate change.
In recent years, the European Commission has increasingly relied on qualitative scenario building as part of its Strategic Foresight initiatives as well. For instance, the 2020 report Shaping Europe’s Digital Future used scenarios to anticipate the impacts of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and 5G networks.
When implemented correctly, this approach is recognised as helping to foresee future developments and to direct preparatory measures.
Find an overview of Qualitative Scenario Building and other foresight methods in the FutuRes Policy Brief "Policy with Foresight".
Who are the experts? Stakeholders from academia, policy, and civil society across the EU, alongside high-level actors from the UN and European Parliament, will participate in this collaborative approach to foresight. The experts will collaboratively lay out possible future scenarios of resilience, based on the most likely demographic trends.
After the Scenario Building phase in fall 2024, the research team will continuously meet with policymakers, civil society stakeholders and citizens to develop policy recommendations. Follow or get in touch if you would like to be updated about the Policy Lab's events.
