The Scottish Parliament's think-tank

Beyond the electoral cycle

As the Scottish Parliament's think-tank, Scotland's Futures Forum works with Members of the Scottish Parliament to look beyond the electoral cycle and stimulate debate on the long-term challenges and opportunities that Scotland faces.

We host events, support research and encourage creative reflections on our shared future. Our work is designed to inform and provoke ideas about what we should be doing now to secure a positive future for all of Scotland.

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Recent topics

Our work

  • The Scottish Parliament at 25
    Friday 23 August 2024, at the Scottish Parliament As part of the 2024 Festival of Politics, Scotland’s Futures Forum helped the Scottish Parliament mark its 25th anniversary with a panel discussion reflecting on its achievements, challenges, and opportunities for growth. The event highlighted the Parliament’s strengths, legislative achievements, and areas for improvement, with a focus...
  • AI and Creativity
    Are creative humans still relevant. This Festival of Politics debate in August 2024 explored the impact of AI on Scotland's creative sector.
  • Seminar Report: AI in Scottish Schools – What do we know so far?
    Tuesday March 19 2024 This event continued our critical conversation on the policies, strategies and practices shaping artificial intelligence’s future in Scottish schools. It brought together educators, academics and other experts and provoked discussions on key themes like ethical considerations, equitable access, and collaborative development. What challenges and opportunities lie ahead, and how can we...
  • Scotland’s Housing and Net Zero Conference
    22 April 2024 Scotland aims to achieve ‘net zero’ by 2045, but the Scottish Government announced, in April, that the interim 2030 target is unreachable highlighting the significant challenges ahead. By bringing together MSPs and stakeholders from academia, private, public and third sectors, the conference provided a platform to discuss and strategise on the necessary...
  • COP28 Logo
    COP28: Code Red for parliaments – what next?
    How are parliaments changing to respond to the climate and biodiversity emergencies? How are they supporting their elected members to deal with the issues..
  • COP28 Logo
    COP28: An update from the conference
    Malini Mehra, chief executive of GLOBE International, joins parliamentarians in the COP pavilion to provide an update on how conference negotiations are going.

Listen to a recent podcast

Artificial Intelligence and Democracy - Richard Leonard MSP and Professor Ewa Luger - Podcasts By The Scottish Parliament

With developments in artificial intelligence (AI) speeding up, what effect will this technology have on our democracy? What do we mean when we talk about artificial intelligence? What are the opportunities and what are the dangers? And how, as citizens and as a democracy, should we react? This Scotland's Futures Forum podcast, recorded in May 2023, explored the potential impact of AI on our lives and the implications we should consider. Featuring expert contributions from Professor Ewa Luger, Professor of Human-Data Interaction at the University of Edinburgh, and Richard Leonard MSP, convener of the Scottish Parliament’s Public Audit Committee. You can find out more on the Scotland's Futures Forum website.

Read our recent blogs

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If you would like to be kept informed of the work Scotland’s Futures Forum, you can join our mailing list.

We use the mailing to send messages about upcoming events and other work that may be of interest. We send a couple of emails a month at most. We ask only for your name and email address, and we never share your information with anyone else.

If you would like to sign up, please email: ScotlandsFuturesForum@parliament.scot.