The Scottish Parliament's think-tank

IRISS – Imagining the Future Scenarios

View from space of the earth with "Imagining the Future" text above it

What will community, support and social services mean and look like in 2025?

Imagining the Future Scenarios

There is absolutely no reason to expect that by 2025 social services in Scotland will look the same as they do today. What does the future hold for social services in 2025?

Nobody knows for sure. It is impossible to predict the realities of 2025 because there are any number of social, political and economic factors that will impact on our trajectory over the coming decade. However, we can anticipate increased demands on public services, integration of health and social care, an emphasis on community-centred services and an ever-evolving regulatory environment. During 2014, an IRISS project community of some five hundred people has been imagining different scenarios for social services, set in 2025. What are their thoughts and guidance?

Imagining the Future scenarios have been built and designed to help us think through some of the future possibilities. The use of scenarios is a tool to get us discussing, arguing and debating the future of social services. They are provocative but also useful to guide difficult conversations around, for example, the role of professionals in 21st century, citizen rights and responsibilities, leadership and workforce planning.

Find out more about the project methodology, different phases of the project and project materials on the Methodology and Background webpage.

Visit the links below to discover 4 scenarios which will help you plan for the future: