The Scottish Parliament's think-tank
What are our aspirations for education and learning in 2030 and beyond? What could become a reality? What are the implications for education and learning if the future is uncertain and/or continues to change rapidly? What…
With the Goodison Group in Scotland, the Futures Forum has been investigating the future for schooling, education and learning in Scotland, looking to 2030 and beyond. In a series of interactive seminars, participants from a…
Hello and welcome to the Futures Forum’s bulletin for autumn 2018! With the Scottish Parliament having returned from the summer recess, we look back on a busy summer for us and forward to an exciting…
Wednesday 3 October 2018, 6pm to 8pm, at the Scottish Parliament The Futures Forum continues its investigation into life in the future with a discussion on growing older in 2030 and beyond. Chaired by Ross…
Tuesday 6 November 2018, 6pm to 8pm, at the Scottish Parliament The Futures Forum concludes its investigation into life in the future with a discussion on death and dying in 2030 and beyond. Chaired by the…
Food is central to our lives in Scotland – from what we eat and drink as individuals, to the number of jobs in the growing food and drink sector, and the links between its production and…
Are autonomous vehicles the future? How well developed are they already, what is likely to happen next, and how can Scotland exploit the opportunities they present? Scotland’s Futures Forum was delighted to work with Ivan…
On 4 July 2018, the Futures Forum held a seminar on the opportunities for Glasgow from the development of autonomous vehicles. Hosted by Glasgow City Council and produced in conjunction with Jacobs and Glasgow Chambers…
On 21 June 2018, Scotland’s Futures Forum hosted a seminar on the opportunities and challenges presented by the development of autonomous vehicles. A panel discussion chaired by Gail Ross MSP, Deputy Convener of the Rural…
Scotland 2030: Goodison Group in Scotland Forum Debate On Tuesday 19 June 2018, the Goodison Group in Scotland and the Futures Forum continued their exploration of schooling and learning in the future, with a focus…
On Friday 15 June 2018, the Futures Forum, the Scottish Parliament’s Finance and Constitution Committee and the Royal Society of Edinburgh brought together a group of experts from throughout Scotland to consider the long-term sustainability…
In partnership with the University of Aberdeen, on 25 May 2018, the Futures Forum held an event on the aspirations for our future in Aberdeen and the North East. Using the Our Future Scotland video…
Click below to find out what we’ve been up to – and what’s coming next!
Ten years on from its ground-breaking report into reducing harm caused by alcohol and drugs, Scotland’s Futures Forum returned to the subject with an event to consider drug use in Scotland. Following a request from…
Scotland’s Futures Forum is delighted to announce our Summer Programme of Events. In the Scottish Parliament, we’ll be hosting a panel discussion including author Christopher Brookmyre and robotics expert Professor Sethu Vijayakumar on our aspirations…
Tuesday 5 June 2018 at the Scottish Parliament The Futures Forum’s investigation into Scotland’s culture and society in the future continued with a discussion of our working lives in 2030. Read the full event report…
In 2018, Scotland’s Futures Forum’s Scotland 2030 Programme is looking at different stages of life in future Scotland. The first event in the series considered what growing up in Scotland in 2030 could and should…
Ten years on from its ground-breaking report into reducing harm caused by alcohol and drugs, Scotland’s Futures Forum will return to the subject with an event to consider drug use in Scotland. Following a request…
Scotland 2030: Goodison Group in Scotland Forum Debate On 14 March 2018, the Goodison Group in association with Scotland’s Futures Form held the first debate of the year as part of its future schooling, education…
Apologies due to unforeseen circumstances this discussion on Dementia has been cancelled. Wednesday 21 March 2018, 6pm, at the Scottish Parliament Scotland’s Futures Forum will join with the Scottish Parliament’s Cross-Party Group on Dementia to host…
As part of Scotland’s Futures Forum strategic link with the Goodison Group in Scotland in the area of learning and skills, our organisations undertook a project on Scotland as a world-leading learning nation. This ambitious…
In 2006-07, Scotland’s Futures Forum looked at issues and opportunities for Scotland’s ageing population, specifically to stimulate debate on the positive aspects of the population structure. Growing Older and Wiser Together Report
In 2008, Scotland’s Futures Forum published its report on how Scotland can reduce the damage caused by alcohol and drug misuse by half by 2025. The report publications are now available: Approaches to Alcohol and Drugs…
Sustainable Communities in Scotland is a scenario project looking at what sustainable communities might look like, in Scotland, in 2030. Our main report describes three scenarios for the future: opportunities missed opportunities taken opportunities uninvited…
Homelessness remains a significant challenge in Scotland. As noted in a Holyrood Magazine article “Out in the cold“, 28,000 households were made homeless in Scotland in 2017. This means a Scottish household becomes homeless every…
Scotland 2030: Goodison Group in Scotland Forum Debate The Goodison Group in Scotland continued its on-going investigation into education and learning in the future with a debate in the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday 14 November…
On Friday 10 November, in conjunction with the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the Futures Forum held a Scotland 2030 Programme discussion on technology and society in Inverness. Chaired by the Presiding Officer Ken Macintosh MSP,…
On Monday 30 October 2017, Scotland’s Futures Forum and the Scottish Parliament Information Centre brought together MSPs, academics and other stakeholders to look to 2030 and beyond and explore the policies that will make the…
On 27 October 2017, the Futures Forum held a joint consultation event with the Scottish Youth Parliament on the question of technology. Chaired by Maree Todd MSP as a Futures Forum director, the debate covered…
A decade after the Scotland’s Futures Forum published its recommendations to reduce the damage of drugs on our population with plans to tax cannabis, prescribe heroin and provide consumption rooms, the Scottish Parliament’s Festival of…
What does the future hold for young people? What do they think will happen? As part of a BBC Scotland Learning project “The Future and Me”, pupils from the Glasgow Gaelic School and St Andrew’s…
This informal reception introduced guests to the main concepts behind Fit Home, a unique partnership between housing, NHS Highland and social enterprise, which, supported by academic research, showcases a collaborative solution to wellness in the…
Scotland 2030: Goodison Group in Scotland Forum Debate On 5 September 2017, the Goodison Group in Scotland and the Futures Forum continued their on-going investigation into education and learning in the future with a debate…
By Dr Steph Smith, Scotland’s Rural College and @ScienceSeaweed Humans are curious creatures. Not in the sense that we are random assemblages of cells which share about 50% of our DNA with a banana; but curious…
A healthy society and culture depends on a healthy environment. This project explores how Scotland’s environment might change over the coming years and how our relationship with it will and should change at the same…
Data and Politics: Comparative Agendas Project 10th Anniversary Conference Reception This reception marked the 10th anniversary of the Comparative Agendas Project, a worldwide network of political and data scientists working to investigate trends in government,…
Scotland 2030: Goodison Group in Scotland Forum Debate The Goodison Group in Scotland continued its on-going investigation into education and learning in the future with a debate in the Scottish Parliament on 13 June 2017….
By Eleanore Widger, University of Dundee and @Nell Widger Earlier this year the Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA) and Mountaineering Scotland made an unlikely alliance in opposition to government plans to plant thousands of new trees. According to the…
As part of the Scotland 2030 Programme, and on the basis that a strong society and economy can exist in the long term only if the environment – land, air and water – are functioning…
By Nicola Martin, University of Stirling and @NicolaMartin14 “We look to Scotland for all our ideas of civilisation.” This summary of a quotation from French Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire is commonly used by commentators who wish…
By Eleanore Widger, University of Dundee and @NellWidger A curious thing happened in Scotland during the Romantic period: vast numbers of tourists from Britain, Europe and elsewhere used new road networks and steam packet routes to access the…
Iain Banks, the great Scottish author, once said, “Technology determines the possibilities of society.” This has been true since humans developed basic tools, and it remains the case today, although those possibilities and the rate that…
The best in European democratic innovation was presented at a seminar in the Scottish Parliament hosted jointly by Scotland’s Futures Forum and Nesta. Pioneers from across the continent brought their experience of how digital tools…
The growing level of automation in Scotland’s economy and the implications for our workforce was the subject of a Scotland’s Futures Forum’s Breakfast Seminar in 2017. Hosted by Richard Leonard MSP on behalf of the…
New research reveals up to £1.23 billion tax gain by increasing the number of successfully transferred SMEs and Family Businesses in Scotland Research demonstrates how SMEs and Family Businesses can significantly grow the Scottish economy….
The Edinburgh Beltane Beacon for Public Engagement held an event on 15 June 2011, focusing on ‘Realising the Potential of Engaged Universities’. The event, part of the ‘Big Ideas for Society’ day of UK Universities…
In early March 2011, Scotland’s Futures Forum along with Edinburgh Beltane hosted two seminars to consider the findings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s report ‘Facing up to climate change: breaking the barriers to a…
Increasing numbers of women are being imprisoned in Scotland (and other comparable jurisdictions), and this cannot be explained by rates of offending or changes in the nature of offences. The Scottish Universities Insight Institute recently…
In an era of financial austerity, governments need to consider innovative new ways of funding the solutions to a variety of social problems. At a Futures Forum seminar attended by over 100 individuals from the…
As part of the 2010-11 seminar series, in partnership with Edinburgh Beltane, a Futures Forum was held on 15 November 2010 bringing together around 70 delegates to explore what is understood by ‘an inclusive Scotland…
In 2010, Scotland’s Futures Forum and the City of Edinburgh Council’s Culture and Sport Division engaged in a short-term project to explore the future of the city’s arts and culture sector. The purpose of the…
In 2010, the Futures Forum undertook work on Scotland’s public finances. It was aware from its own work that the future would include public sector budgetary constraints, rapid technological change and shifting relationships between citizens,…
On 8 March 2010, Scotland’s Futures Forum held a seminar to consider how far we are from realising a low carbon economy in Scotland. The seminar was attended by 90 policymakers, academics and those from…
As an Associate Member of Scotland’s Futures Forum at the time, the National Trust for Scotland asked the Forum to work with their Members and staff to help provide a futures perspective to the Reid…
On 7 September 2009, in partnership with Skills Development Scotland and the Scottish Government, Scotland’s Futures Forum hosted a seminar with Professor Joakim Palme, Director of the Institute for Futures Studies at Stockholm University. The…
On 29 May 2009, Scotland’s Futures Forum and Glasgow Caledonian University’s Poverty Information Unit co-hosted a conference to explore the extent to which the Scottish Parliament, in its first decade, has reduced poverty and inequalities and to…