Back to Forecasting Skills: See the Future Before it Happens
Institute for the Future

Forecasting Skills: See the Future Before it Happens

For many people, the future comes as a surprise – or even a shock. But with strong forecasting skills, YOU can avoid future shock. You can adapt faster, and become better prepared to benefit from change. In this course, you’ll build your future forecasting skills. You'll learn how to turn groups of "signals" (clues about the future) and "drivers" (global forces that influence the direction of change) into compelling future forecasts. Forecasts help you discover new possibilities and opportunities for yourself, your company, or any community you want to inspire to make a better future. You'll also learn how to write future scenarios. Scenarios take forecasts one step further. They spark imagination and tell a story about what might happen if a forecast comes true. Scenarios help you evaluate: Is this a future I'm ready for? Is this a future I want? Leading futurists from the Institute for the Future will show you exactly how it's done. They'll share with you the forecasts and scenarios they’re most excited about right now, and walk you through the key steps they took to create them. Then, it's your turn! You'll create a forecast and a scenario on any future topic you choose. How will you benefit from taking this course? With strong forecasting skills, you'll get better at seeing the future before it happens. You'll be ready to consider possibilities that others never see coming or refuse to accept. You'll be able to help others prepare for and adapt to the future. You can decide which futures you want to make more likely, and which futures you want to prevent. Many thanks to the Enlight Foundation and the Enlight Collaborative, which provided a grant to support the creation of this course.

Status: Forecasting
Status: Adaptability
BeginnerCourse13 hours

Featured reviews

LP

5.0Reviewed Dec 5, 2021

Another excellent course in the Futures Thinking specialisation. I am looking forward to completing all five.

MR

5.0Reviewed Nov 17, 2019

Great course, really built on the introductory course and helped the participant build confidence in forecasting the future

LH

5.0Reviewed Jul 31, 2020

I think the Forecasting Skills course was a very good course and it has helped me forecast the future with accuracy. Thank you for such a good instructor.

GY

5.0Reviewed Jul 6, 2023

well oriented course and a lot of knowledges you could apply on reality thank you so much and God Bless

JS

5.0Reviewed Sep 26, 2022

​This course is great. Inspiring lessons and an open invitation to be more flexible with our thinking, to be better prepared for the future.

DE

5.0Reviewed Apr 8, 2020

This was a great course that expanded and deepened my understanding of mapping signals and drivers to scenarios and forecasts.

DM

5.0Reviewed May 28, 2020

The course really does give a good understanding of forecasting and Jane explains it comprehensibly.

EE

5.0Reviewed Sep 5, 2020

The instructor is very clear and it very easy to follow her. The assignments are interesting and really make you see things from a different perspective.

AA

5.0Reviewed Nov 13, 2019

I liked the course a lot. Presented tools are quite useful for me and I can use them when trying to build the future scenarios.

GP

5.0Reviewed Jul 13, 2021

I am learning more and more which has shown me how little I knew before these courses. Take them if you want to see the world differently!

DM

5.0Reviewed Nov 10, 2019

I'm really liking these classes. They are doing exactly what I wanted which is getting me to think about things in a bigger way.

MM

4.0Reviewed Feb 2, 2021

Really interesting course, disadvantages of it every week there is a peer review not everyone gave you feedback on your work. Material is insightful and cover different areas.

All reviews

Showing: 20 of 134

Leslie Shannon
5.0
Reviewed Jan 28, 2020
Navya Shree
5.0
Reviewed Sep 25, 2020
Lamon Harrell
5.0
Reviewed Aug 1, 2020
Elis
5.0
Reviewed Sep 6, 2020
AHMAD MOHAMMAD AYED
5.0
Reviewed Jul 5, 2020
Dawn Martin
5.0
Reviewed Nov 11, 2019
David Mould
5.0
Reviewed Feb 2, 2021
De-Jyun,Liao
5.0
Reviewed Dec 30, 2019
ahmet
5.0
Reviewed Nov 14, 2019
Daniel Emery
5.0
Reviewed Apr 9, 2020
Mike Richmond
5.0
Reviewed Nov 18, 2019
Jessa Ibanez
5.0
Reviewed Feb 3, 2021
Aurélie Baulard
4.0
Reviewed May 20, 2020
Matthew Thorburn
5.0
Reviewed Feb 19, 2022
Reshob Routh
5.0
Reviewed Oct 5, 2020
Salil Sahadevan
5.0
Reviewed Apr 10, 2020
Zane Veinberga
5.0
Reviewed Feb 10, 2023
Eithne Hogan
5.0
Reviewed Feb 2, 2021
Nathan Kohl
5.0
Reviewed May 9, 2020
Sandra Martinez Polo
5.0
Reviewed May 10, 2020