Strategic foresight is traditionally associated with the military and politics. Tuomo Kuosa looks at its development into a method of generating analyses of alternative futures and strategies, based on available intelligence and foreknowledge. This practice can be applied to companies, business sectors, national and trans-national agencies of all descriptions, and to all aspects of public policy making. In The Evolution of Strategic Foresight the author uses examples from 30 countries, involving key experts in the field, to illustrate the theory underpinning the employment of strategic foresight. Its practice is explained in terms of structure, process, and knowledge domains. Methodologies and systems are examined, along with how strategic foresight can be used to produce better knowledge and be more effectively linked to policy making. Kuosa's findings are invaluable to scholars, students, long-range, public policy and urban planners, analysts, risk assessment experts, and consultants, managers and decision makers.

Contents: Preface; Part I Knowledge: Introduction; Foresight concepts; Strategic concepts; Evolutionary concepts; Inferring in theory; Inferring in foresight. Part II Structure: Principles of strategic foresight in public policy making; Strategic foresight in European Union's older member states' public policy making; Strategic foresight in the European Union's ten new member states' public policy making; Strategic foresight in the public policy making of other countries and transnational organizations. Part III Process: How could the strategic foresight process better facilitate national decision? - views of policy makers and high government officials; How could the strategic foresight process better facilitate national decision making? - views of strategic foresight knowledge producers; How could we improve our public strategic foresight systems? - views of strategic foresight knowledge producers; How could we improve our public strategic foresight systems? - views of policy makers and high government officials. Part IV Discussion: Trilogy of systems thinking, foresight and strategic management; Adjusting foresight, intelligence and inferring for different types of systems; Bibliography; Index.