Strategy

Oxford Learner's Dictionaries: Strategy/ˈstræt̮ədʒi/ (pl. strategies) [countable] 

- A plan that is intended to achieve a particular purpose.

Confronted with times of uncertainty, companies and authorities hesitate to take decisions (policy making, strategic investments, company strategy). One way to develop a dynamic strategy that offers robustness and resilience to a changing context, is the methodology pioneered by Shell: scenario planning. ESSET ENGAGE helps customers to analyse the contextual trends and uncertainties that will impact the future in which they will have to operate. By combining these driving forces, a set of diverging yet plausible and relevant potential futures - scenarios - are described and explored. These scenarios are then used to develop a portfolio of strategic options that enable to prepare a wider spectrum of futures. In the end, all elements are combined in an overall robust and flexible strategy.

“What is surprising is not the magnitude of our forecast errors,
  but our absence of awareness of it." 

- Nassim Nicholas Taleb -

Taleb’s quote in his million selling book ‘The Black Swan’ reflects on the risks of rigid forecasting. How can we bypass the effects of randomness and be ready for the future?

Numerous sources report on the exponentially increasing ‘datafication’ of the world we live in today. There’s an overflow of valuable data, which should make it possible for leaders to take decisions independent of assumptions and wild guesses. How can we unleash that power of foresight and what could it offer to you? As foresight practitioners, we combine coaching techniques with future thinking in order to challenge mental models, convergent thinking and limiting beliefs. Foresight is more an art than it is a science. It can be seen as a facilitation of the strategic conversation or a challenge on future thinking. Foresight facilitators do not interfere with the content, they only manage the process and lead the path towards common visions.

References

  • Ministry of Social Affairs – Scenarios on European Health Data Space and the role of the Health Data Access Bodies in Belgium (2023)

  • RSZ (Belgian National Office for Social Security) – Scenarios on social status of the seafarer (2022)

  • EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) - Horizon scanning exercise on preparedness for future risk assessment requirements and possible challenges in regulatory science (2021 - RC/EFSA/ED/2021/01)

  • FAO - Virtual expert consultation workshop. Significance of the forest sector for employment on global and regional scale. In collaboration with Thünen-Institute and the International Labor Organisation (2021)

  • RSZ (Belgian National Office for Social Security) – Scenarios on the social security in Belgium by 2030 (2019)

  • Flemish Government, department environment  - Environmental scenarios in Flanders by 2050 (2020-2022)

  • Roadmap towards a carbon neutral Oleon (biotech sector, 2020)

  • Scenario based strategy for Sonangol (Angola, 2018)

  • Asia-Europe Foundation - ASAP scenarios on multi-sector pandemic preparedness. The Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) is an intergovernmental not-for-profit organization which brings together the peoples of Asia and Europe to address common global challenges by acting as the civil society outreach of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), and as an interface between civil society and ASEM governments. The ASAP scenarios acted on multi-sector pandemic preparedness, sponsored by the MOFA of Japan and in collaboration with the UN, WHO, FAO, World Bank and Red Cross/Red Crescent (2010 – 2014)

    • GSK Biologicals - Internal scenarios on pandemics (Wavre, 2011)

    • Scenarios for the future of Burundi, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2000)

    • Roadmap for a carbon neutral Brussels Airport (2019)

    • FP7 BEWATER (2014-2017) - River basin adaptation SLO plans for the Mediterranean area via a science-society stakeholder trajectory (2014-2017) 

    • FP7 Project IMPRESSIONS - Scenarios for High-End climate change by 2100. Adaptation roadmapping for Central Asia, Europe, Scotland, Iberia and 2 Hungarian communities (2015-2017)