Strategic foresight in the Ministry of the Interior's branch of government
Joint strategic foresight activities in the Ministry of the Interior's branch of government include:
- continuously observing of the operating environment
- maintaining trend cards which describe factors driving change in internal security in the medium term
- identifying weak signals and emerging phenomena
- creating future scenarios as necessary.
Strategic foresight means identifying factors that may affect the future, mapping alternative future trends and defining measures to achieve the desired future.
Foresight makes for better decisions and builds a future Finland
Foresight activities help us
- build a Finland that is in line with our vision and strategy (goal-oriented strategic foresight)
- prepare for the future and any possible threats so we can respond to them flexibly (foresight aiming at preparedness).
Not everything we anticipate will happen and, in any case, foresight does not aim to predict the future in detail. However, we must be able to identify the points that require action from all the scenarios, trends, weak signals and wildcards. Increased foresight capabilities and a better understanding of the future will improve the resilience of the Ministry's branch of government and its ability to act flexibly in various realised futures.
Broad-based cooperation plays a key role
Strategic foresight is carried out by the foresight network of the Ministry’s branch of government, which has members from the Ministry's departments and agencies. The Strategic Steering and Development Unit at the Ministry’s Administration and Development Department is in charge of carrying out the foresight activities.
To enrich the perspectives on foresight, the Unit invites experts from outside the branch of government to join in the work, for example in the form of Delphi panels.
Explore reports by the Ministry of the Interior foresight activities
The outputs of the Ministry of the Interior foresight activities do not represent the official position or views of the Ministry; they are public officials’ expert opinions for supporting planning and decision-making. The reports are available in Finnish.