The Scottish Parliament's think-tank
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…
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This event in October 2023 explored how we can use our land to underpin food security, maintain sustainable communities, & meet climate & biodiversity targets
This blog by David Waite, Richard Crisp and Anne Green reflects on different ideas of economic change and where they’ve come from.
This panel discussion in October 2023 explored how fair Scotland is as a country. Complete equality of outcome is impossible – so what does success look like?
What can be done to tackle the giants of 21st century poverty? This seminar in August 2023 with the David Hume Institute and Professor Danny Dorling explored whether Scotland is providing some answers.
If all political parties in Scotland are committed to tackling poverty, why has more progress not been made? This Festival of Politics debate in August 2023 explored Scotland’s poverty problem.
Post-pandemic and in a cost-of-living crisis, how can new economic ideas help us shape the future? This Festival of Politics debate in August 2023 explored how our economy could and should work.
How can Scotland create fair and sustainable communities? This Festival of Politics debate in August 2023 explored the role of and future for our land in Scotland.
With Scotland facing the challenges of a climate emergency and rising inequality, this seminar in June 2023 explored business purpose and making a good living.
With Scotland facing the challenges of a climate and ecological emergency, rising inequality and an ageing population, this seminar in April 2023 explored the idea of a just transition.
With Scotland facing the challenges of a climate and ecological emergency, rising inequality and an ageing population, this seminar in February 2023 explored the idea of a wellbeing economy
After taking part in a 2021 Festival of Politics event on Scotland as a sustainable society in 2045, writer James Robertson shares his reflections on our future
Online discussion from September 2021: What does a sustainable Scotland look like? How can we build a society that works for all our citizens? What changes do we need to make as individuals?
Throughout the Scotland 2030 Programme, our event participants shared their thoughts and ideas on how to approach the future. These are 10 ideas for the Scottish Parliament to consider – with some background information to…
Thursday 19 November 2020, 7pm to 8.30pm, online and free As Scotland’s Futures Forum publishes its report into Scotland in 2030 and beyond, join an expert panel at the Scottish Parliament’s Festival of Politics to…
After her participation in a 2020 Festival of Politics event on Scotland in 2030, chaired by Presiding Officer Ken Macintosh MSP, writer and presenter Tomiwa Folorunso shares her reflections on the next 10 years. Open the…
Ahead of his participation in a Festival of Politics panel discussion on Scotland in 2030, the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland Bruce Adamson shares his reflections on the next 10 years. Planning ahead would…
What would success look like in for Gaelic in Scotland by 2030? This half-day conference in December 2019 explored the future for one of Scotland’s official languages. Features videos and event report
Wednesday 26 June 2019, at the Scottish Parliament Life in Scotland’s towns and cities is forecast to change significantly in the coming decades. Cities are set to continue to grow, facing the challenge of providing…
A blog by Felix Esche, a work experience student in June 2019, on the future of our cities.
On Wednesday 5 June 2019, former Fed Cup Captain Judy Murray spoke at the Scottish Parliament as part of the seminar series with Leaders in Sport and Physical Activity hosted by the Futures Forum and…
On Wednesday 29 May 2019, the founder and chief executive of Street Soccer, David Duke, spoke at the Scottish Parliament about his journey through sport and the lessons he has learned along the way. Organised…
A reflection by Susie Maguire on the potential effect of a citizen’s income. Written in 2019, “In An Enlightened Future” charts the dream of someone living in a world with a citizen’s income.
Scotland’s sparsely-populated areas are predicted to lose a quarter of their population by 2046, with the working age population likely to shrink by 33%. At the same time, the challenge of enabling the development that…
On Wednesday 8 May 2019, the Head Coach of the Scotland Women’s National Team, Shelley Kerr, spoke at the Parliament in a seminar chaired by the Presiding Officer Ken Macintosh MSP. Podcast Listen to a…
Panel discussion at the Scottish Parliament in 2019 on a citizen’s income or universal basic income. How attractive – and affordable – is it as a policy?
Short report of event from March 2019 with Helen Lewis on the Future of Feminism with Monica Lennon MSP.
Jennifer Wallace, Carnegie UK Trust, @Jen_CarnegieUK Earlier this month I attended a Scotland’s Futures Forum seminar on a wellbeing economy at the Scottish Parliament. The event, a collaboration between the Futures Forum, the Economy, Jobs…
How can housing meet the needs of older people in the future? This seminar in January 2019 explored the future for housing with an ageing population. Features podcast of presentation.
This seminar in December 2018 brought together experts from Denmark and Norway to share good practice on drugs policy.
16 November 2018, at the Scottish Parliament In conjunction with the Scottish Parliament’s Health and Sport Committee, the Futures Forum brought together a diverse range of people to consider the future for social care for…
Tuesday 6 November 2018, at the Scottish Parliament The Futures Forum concluded its investigation into life in the future with a discussion on death and dying in 2030 and beyond. Chaired by the Parliament’s Presiding Officer,…
Wednesday 3 October 2018, at the Scottish Parliament The Futures Forum continued its investigation into life in the future with a discussion on growing older in 2030 and beyond. Chaired by Ross Greer MSP, this…
This seminar in September 2018 used Nourish Scotland’s vision of a sustainable food system in 2030 to prompt a discussion on food in Scotland. Features video of presentations and report.
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 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…
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 Scotland 2030 – Work…
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…
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…
Reception in January 2018 to showcase Heriot-Watt University’s academic research behind Social Bite’s ambitious plan to tackle homelessness.
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 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…
The French philosopher Voltaire is quoted as saying in the 1760s that “We look to Scotland for all our ideas of civilisation”. What did that mean then, and what might it mean today and in the…
What does the future hold for young people? What do they think will happen? This video from 2017 explores what inventions we might see by 2030.
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…
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…
The first line of an article I read this morning proclaimed that: “Technology has driven human civilisation for thousands of years.” [1] Businessman Mukesh Ambani was discussing the opportunities for India to become a world…
By Nicola Martin, University of Stirling and @NicolaMartin14 5 April 2017 Before we consider what various stakeholders understand by the notion of a civilised nation or civilisation in the present, and even before we consider…
By Nicola Martin, University of Stirling and @NicolaMartin14 Whilst the current view from my window is not as symbolic as Eleanore’s (I’m currently working from home rather than the Parliament), I too found my thinking for…
By Eleanore Widger, University of Dundee and @NellWidger As I write this I can see, to the right of my computer screen, the gorse-covered north-west side of an extinct volcano, a huge slab of rock…
Workshop in November 2016 to support the SUII programme on Fostering Cultures of Innovation, featuring video presentations of each project.
With Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials all sharing the workplace, this forum debate in September 2016 focused on intergenerational learning.
If we look over the horizon to 2020, what would an equitable education look like? This GGiS forum in September 2015 focused on equity in education and improving attainment.
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 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…
Report from a conversation café in June 2011 held as part of the development of the Oxfam Humankind Index.
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…
Seminar in November 2010 with public, private and voluntary sectors on an innovative way of funding solutions to social problems.
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…
A scenario project from 2010 examining what sustainable communities might look like in Scotland in 2030. Features report and scenarios video.
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…
Project in 2010 looking at challenges to Scotland’s public finances from budget constraints, technological change and shifting relationships.
A futures discussion paper on the National Trust for Scotland produced in 2010 for the Reid Review.
Seminar in September 2009 on what might a Scottish welfare system look like in 2020? With Swedish expert Prof Joakim Palme
Conference in May 2009 on poverty and inequalities in Scotland. A decade after devolution, what has improved and what are the priorities for the future?
Report from 2007 from a futures project taking a positive approach to an ageing society. Includes key questions and three scenarios for discussion