Description

“What Works covers over thirty years of Inayatullah’s research in futures studies and offers one of the most comprehensive works on methods and case studies and, most importantly, implications and applications available today. Inayatullah presses the reader to grapple with the global challenges we all face and urges each of us to take more responsibility for today, and for future generations. It is a must-read for any person who is serious about our futures.”

-Dr. Robert Burke, Associate, Melbourne Business School, University of Melbourne

What Works by Sohail Inayatullah furthers the practice of foresight in organizations, institutions, cities and nations. Divided into three parts, What Works moves from theorizing the future to case studies of foresight in action and concludes with innovative futures methods.

The first part introduces futures studies — its principles, theories and methods. The second and main part of the book presents case studies.

Chapters include:

• Deep inclusion in a digital era: democratic governance Asia 2030
• Leap-frogging the West: e-health futures in Bangladesh
• From the lecturer to the murabbi: the alternative futures of higher education in Malaysia
• Leveraging development: the alternative scenarios for BRAC University
• Transforming agriculture: from salinity research to greening the desert
• Cities as agents of change: emerging issues and case studies
• Going beyond the thin blue line: the futures of international policing
• From the collection to co-creation: the futures of libraries and librarians
• From crops to care: the changing nature of health care in rural Australia

The third and final section focuses on methodological innovation. These chapters explore the implications of forecasting the long-term future, the use of the Sarkar game in foresight workshops, and how causal layered analysis has been used to transform personal and institutional stories. The conclusion evaluates the use of futures thinking for strategy development.