At Sparck/BJSS we're always looking for innovative ways to put futures thinking into practice, and play our part in shaping the future.
Futures thinking is about reading signals of change in the present day and then using a range of practices to look years and decades ahead.
By imagining and anticipating possible futures organisations can make more informed decisions and take steps to avoid unwanted futures.
You can find out more about futures thinking on the Sparck blog
We recently collaborated with the University of Bristol's Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and with Easol, a consultancy that supports individuals and teams on their entrepreneurial journey.
It was an enlightening journey that offered valuable insights into community engagement, the future of Bristol as a city, and the critical role of businesses and local government.
You can read about this from Easol’s perspective in this excellent blog post on bridging futures thinking and entrepreneurial innovation.
Now, here’s our take.
The power of co-creation
This collaboration has demonstrated the power of collective creativity and innovation.
It combined Sparck’s expertise in futures thinking, Easol’s approach to entrepreneurial innovation, and the fresh perspectives and action-oriented mindset of a group of master's students.
This generated a host of ideas and insights, and proved to be far more powerful than any single entity working in isolation.
Reverse mentoring: learning from the next generation
One of the most rewarding aspects of this project has been the opportunity for reverse mentoring.
While we provided a brief and guidance to the students, we found ourselves learning just as much from their ideas and unique perspectives.
This underscores the importance of businesses engaging and empowering emerging talent, not only to contribute to workforce development, but also as a means of staying connected to fresh thinking and new approaches.
Empowering communities: a shift in perspective
A key insight that emerged from this collaboration was the need to shift our focus from enabling community engagement to empowering communities.
The students’ research highlighted a desire to engage but also an entrenched belief that engagement would not lead to impact.
This hints at a deeper societal and civic governance challenge. We need to create a meaningful environment and clear pathways for citizen engagement.
The synergy of futures thinking and entrepreneurial innovation
This project also demonstrated the value of combining futures thinking with entrepreneurial mindsets.
It provided the participating students with valuable experience practicing the principles of ‘effectuation’ – “a way of thinking and decision-making that is based on the idea that entrepreneurs create their future by taking action and making things happen”.
This cross-fertilisation of ideas and methodologies proved to be highly productive, opening new avenues for innovation and action.
We believe this approach has the potential to revolutionise how businesses and communities prepare for and shape their futures.
This is particularly important as we witness increasing decentralisation, and the emergence of citizen assemblies, community-led energy generation schemes, and similar bodies.
Empowering and enabling them will be critical to the success of these enterprises.
Engaging the local business ecosystem
This project has been a catalyst for broader engagement with Bristol's business ecosystem.
We're actively working on the next phase with a special event in the pipeline, that will bring together local businesses, charities, community leaders, and academics to further explore how we can collectively shape Bristol's future.
Connect with me on LinkedIn, or email me via the contact form, if you want to know more.
Looking ahead
We're more convinced than ever of the power of futures thinking in driving meaningful change for communities, organisations, and society.
It’s possible to create a future for Bristol that is not just anticipated, but actively shaped by its citizens.
I’m really grateful to Easol, the University of Bristol, and all the students who participated in this project.
Your contributions have been invaluable, and the futures crew at Sparck is excited about the possibilities that lie ahead.
