November 14th 2019 saw the first pilot of the foresight methodology, which will be used to explore the future of spatial justice and territorial inequality as part of IMAJINE’s Work Package 8.
The foresight element of IMAJINE, led by NUI Galway’s Dr Marie Mahon alongside strategy consultant Dr Matt Finch of MechanicalDolphin.com, will convene groups of regional stakeholders to explore how the issues addressed by the project might play out in coming years.
November’s session, held at the Teagasc Rural Economy Research Centre in Athenry, Ireland, brought together academic researchers with public servants from local government and national state agencies to trial fast, practical foresight tools allowing them to sketch roadmaps of the plausible future.
Matt Finch, who designed and facilitated the session said, “The Oxford Scenario Planning Approach, which we’re using to structure these consultative sessions, allows us to quickly elicit a sense of where the future might be headed for a given community. Most importantly, it helps us to uncover the futures which would most challenge or ‘blindside’ a given stakeholder. Looking ahead to the most difficult or surprising circumstances allows regional policymakers to develop a playbook of options and strategies when it comes to territorial inequality and spatial justice.”
Marie Mahon, responsible for the overall work package, said: “Scenario planning is an exciting aspect of IMAJINE in that it allows us to essentially test insights emerging from the project and add value to the research outcomes. It helps us to evaluate how effective current cohesion policies and instruments actually are for tackling spatial injustice and inequality and presents opportunities for policymakers to think about future regional development in new ways. It also provides an opportunity for stakeholders to contribute directly to the research and promotes public debate and understanding on questions of territorial inequalities and spatial justice.”
The scenario planning work will continue through 2020 and 2021, including a special session convening IMAJINE’s researchers for the development and testing of Europe-wide scenarios addressing the future of territorial inequality and spatial justice. To find out more, contact Marie Mahon at NUI Galway.
Marie Mahon (National University of Ireland Galway)
