id: future-search
title: Future Search Conference
description: >-
  A large-group planning method that brings diverse stakeholders into a
  shared exploration of past, present, and future to find common ground.
  Developed by Marvin Weisbord and Sandra Janoff.
source: Marvin Weisbord and Sandra Janoff, "Future Search"
source_url: https://futuresearch.net/
tags: [future-search, planning, large-group, stakeholders]
forked_from: null
image: null
steps:
  - headline: Map the past
    description: >-
      Small mixed groups create a timeline of key events in their own lives,
      the organisation, and the world over several decades.
  - headline: Map the present
    description: >-
      Groups map current trends and forces affecting the system, noting
      what they are proud of and what they are sorry about.
  - headline: Ideal future scenarios
    description: >-
      Small groups craft vivid scenarios of the organisation twenty years
      on, as if they have already happened.
  - headline: Find common ground
    description: >-
      The whole group identifies shared themes and projects that all
      stakeholders can commit to, setting aside differences.
  - headline: Action plans
    description: >-
      Volunteers form task groups around each common-ground project and plan
      concrete next steps.
outcome: >-
  Diverse stakeholders discover shared ground and commit to projects none
  could have advanced alone.
practice: >-
  Stakeholder diversity is essential — include those with authority,
  resources, knowledge, and those affected. The "proud/sorry" step often
  releases energy that agenda control would have suppressed.