Futures studies

The 20-item futures consciousness scale is rooted in the tradition of futures studies. Futures studies is an interdisciplinary field that includes academic work as well as practical foresight activities in the public, private and non-profit sectors. Modern systematic futures studies emerged after the Second World War, building on long roots in utopian thinking and human future orientation. Futures studies seeks to “invent, examine and evaluate, and propose possible, probable and preferable futures” (Bell 1997, p. 73). Over the years, a multitude of methods has been developed for practical foresight work, for mapping futures of specific issues or entire global systems, and for proactively promoting preferred future outcomes (e.g. Glenn & Gordon, 2009).