Stakeholder participation and dialogue in foresight

Abstract

Foresight has become an ‘institutional’ activity as more emphasis has been given to the active participation of stakeholders to shape the future of society. As a key element of foresight, participation improves the quality of foresight exercises through the engagement of both scientific and nonscientific knowledge, and stakeholder values and preferences. It is through the participation of stakeholders and a process of dialogue that mutual understanding and learning among participants are achieved, which increases the legitimacy of foresight exercises. The overall aim of this chapter is to strengthen the foresight literature with novel concepts and ideas which are rooted in the participation literature. This will assist foresight researchers and practitioners to better understand various rationales of participation and to determine the type and extent of participation that is desirable for different types of foresight exercises. This objective is largely achieved, initially through a review of the participation literature as a useful input for the current foresight literature, which is also reviewed extensively. The chapter therefore presents a synthesis of the relevant literature, which constitutes a practical reference for foresight practitioners on how to accomplish and sustain participation and dialogue in foresight. The theoretical discussion on participation, dialogue and foresight practice is supplemented with the valuable input gained from the collective analysis of selected foresight cases by the COST Work Group 3. The chapter examines how participation is achieved in these foresight exercises at different organizational levels and scales.