LocationsForesight Made Accessible
February 5, 2026
Making Foresight Accessible
How UNDP and UNICEF collaborated to explore emerging signals of change
Strategic foresight is gaining ground across the UN system — from informing country analyses to shaping more adaptive development strategies. As teams navigate growing complexity, uncertainty, and rapid change, foresight offers a way to think differently about what lies ahead. Yet for many, it can still feel like an intimidating, resource-heavy, and highly technical exercise.
A recent collaboration between UNDP and UNICEF set out to challenge that perception. Through a joint Signals Studio session, colleagues from both organizations came together to explore signals of change and their implications for the future — using simplified foresight tools that made the process engaging, efficient, and inclusive.
Simplifying Foresight for Everyone
The joint Signals Studio adapted two classic foresight tools, the Futures Triangle and the Futures Wheel, to make them more accessible for participants new to foresight.
- The Futures Triangle was simplified into three guiding questions that helped categorise signals: What signals remind you of the future? What signals make you sit up a little? Surprise you? What signals make you hopeful or fearful about the future?
- The Futures Wheel, typically a multi-layered mapping tool, was reimagined as a simple two-tier structure, inviting participants to discuss first-order implications by asking: If this signal became mainstream, what would this world look like? and second-order consequences by asking: what would this mean for UNDP and/or for UNICEF? How would we have to change in this world? This enabled an exploration of a chosen signal in a clear, intuitive way.
The four-step process followed in the joint UNDP X UNICEF Signals Studio on the Futures of Learning
These small design adjustments made a big difference. In just one hour (with separate sessions for colleagues across the Eastern and Western Hemispheres) participants identified a wide range of emerging signals and co-developed insights relevant to both agencies. The conversations were dynamic, the tools easy to grasp, and the results immediately usable.
Collaboration Sparks Richer Conversations
One of the most powerful takeaways from the exercise was how collaboration deepens foresight. Seeing experts from two agencies build on each other’s perspectives led to discussions that were not only creative but also actionable.
Even though UNDP and UNICEF have distinct mandates, the issues they work on, from digital transformation and education to inclusion and resilience, intersect in complex and often unexpected ways. The joint session demonstrated how shared sense-making around signals of change can unlock synergies and identify opportunities that might otherwise remain invisible when teams work in isolation.
In an interconnected world where challenges cut across sectors and mandates, foresight becomes even more valuable when done together.
From Conversation to Action
The process, along with the tools and templates used, has been captured in a Signals Studio booklet, designed for easy replication by other UN country teams or partners interested in integrating foresight into their work.
The toolkit, along with a one-page synthesis of the session’s key signals and implications can be downloaded below:
Looking Ahead
As foresight becomes an integral part of the new UN Common Country Analysis (CCA) and the design of UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks (UNSDCF), this model offers a practical, collaborative entry point for teams looking to get started and build confidence in applying foresight methods.
The message is clear: foresight doesn’t have to be complex or time-consuming to be valuable. With the right tools, and the right partners, it can be both accessible and transformative.