futures studies going by the name la prospective. But in the 1990s we began to see what became an explosion of systematic organisation of these methods in large scale TECHNOLOGY FORESIGHT programmes in Europe and more widely. Foresight thus draws on traditions of work in long-range planning and strategic planning, horizontal policymaking and democratic planning, and participatory futurology - but was also highly influenced by systemic approaches to innovation studies, science and technology policy, and analysis of "critical technologies". Many of the methods that are commonly associated with Foresight - Delphi surveys, scenario workshops, etc. - derive from futurology. The flowchart to the right provides an overview of some of the techniques as they relate to the scenario as defined in the intuitive logics tradition. So does the fact that Foresight is concerned with: The longer-term - futures that are usually at least 10 years away (though there are some exceptions to this, especially in its use in private business). Since Foresight is action-oriented (the planning link) it will rarely be oriented to perspectives beyond a few decades out (though where decisions like aircraft design, power station construction or other major infrastructural decisions are concerned, then the planning horizon may well be half a century). Alternative futures: it is helpful to examine alternative paths of development, not just what is currently believed to be most likely or business as usual. Often Foresight will construct multiple scenarios. These may be an interim step on the way to creating what may be known as positive visions, success scenarios, aspirational futures. Sometimes alternative scenarios will be a major part of the output of Foresight work, with the decision about what future to build being left to other mechanisms. See also Accelerating change Emerging technologies Foresight Institute Forecasting Horizon scanning Optimism bias Reference class forecasting Scenario planning Strategic foresight Strategic Foresight Group Technology forecasting Technology Scouting References Further reading There are numerous journals that deal with research on foresight: Technological Forecasting and Social Change Futures Futures & Foresight Science European Journal of Futures Research Foresight Research focusing more on the combination of foresight and national R&D policy can be found in International Journal of Foresight and Innovation Policy External links The FORLEARN Online Guide developed by the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies of the European Commission The Foresight Programme of UNIDO, the Investment and Technology Promotion Branch of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.