Futures thinking helps users examine current realities, explore possibilities for the future and chart informed paths forward. This approach empowers leaders to shape the future that children will inherit and to resist the notion that the future is out of our control.

This toolkit contains instructions, examples and templates for three futures thinking methods that can be used by anyone who wants to create powerful, long-term change for children and families. Each method can spark deep conversation and insight and set the stage for bold action. The three tools – the Systems Iceberg, Three Horizons and Now vs. Future – are briefly described below.

The Systems Iceberg Tool

The Systems Iceberg is a tool from the field of systems thinking that can help us stop and look at how a system is working beneath the surface so that we can understand what is happening at a deep level, before attempting to create change.

The Three Horizons Tool

The Three Horizons method uses the concept of time horizons to help us consider what is and is not working today, what the future might hold and what transitions and innovations might bridge the two.

The Now vs. Future Tool

The Now vs. Future tool can help us specify our vision for the future, diagnose our current reality, clarify the gaps between the two and identify ways forward.