Colorado State University’s Office of the Vice President for Research is hosting an Aspire Seminar featuring a leading expert in strategic foresight, a discipline which studies the future and decision-making.

Fiona Lickorish will present “Looking back at looking forwards: using strategic foresight techniques to support real-world environmental decision-making” on Thursday, April 11, at 4 p.m. in the Lory Student Center Room 322.

Lickorish has 30 years of experience in environmental assessment and strategic foresight. She previously served as head of Horizon Scanning and Futures for the United Kingdom’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and the head of Cranfield University’s Institute for Resilient Futures.

Strategic foresight, which may be conducted on any topic, is the systematic examination of potential threats, opportunities and likely future developments that are at the margins of current thinking and planning. This area of study may explore either novel and unexpected issues or persistent problems or trends. It is intended to improve the robustness of policies and actions.

In her seminar, Lickorish will address how strategic foresight can be applied to any level of decision-making, with a focus on the environmental sector.

Foresight exercises aim to enable resilience over time and to meet the needs of government and society. These exercises may be used to identify risks that can be addressed by policies or other actions.

Additionally, foresight exercises may be used to identify opportunities to foster innovations that can achieve strategic objectives and improve competitiveness. Because of these exercises, organizations and individuals may be able to prepare for uncertain future events, to gain efficiencies by developing robust, resilient policies and strategies, and to explore diverse futures rather than one future or the future considered most likely.