The role of foresight in public policy: lessons from deliberative democracy and perspectival realism
Abstract Foresight plays an important role in public policy development. The foresight learning process brings together various actors in the policy community and incentivizes them to think about the future. It encourages new ways of thinking and approaches to strategy and is a practical approach t...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SpringerOpen
2025-01-01
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| Series: | European Journal of Futures Research |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40309-024-00246-0 |
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| author | Brian Galvin |
| author_facet | Brian Galvin |
| author_sort | Brian Galvin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Foresight plays an important role in public policy development. The foresight learning process brings together various actors in the policy community and incentivizes them to think about the future. It encourages new ways of thinking and approaches to strategy and is a practical approach to using the future to inform decisions and actions in the present. Foresight faces challenges in becoming embedded in the policy process. One of these challenges is in establishing its epistemic authority when compared to natural science and social science disciplines. This paper argues foresight can benefit from developments in political theory and philosophy of science. Democratic deliberation is an approach to public discourse which emphasizes pluralism in debate and provides a detailed account of how reason-giving can add epistemic depth to foresight’s contribution to policy. Perspectival realism is a theory in philosophy of science which identifies the interplay between separate epistemic communities as the key mechanism in scientific development. The modal models that these epistemic communities create present a new way of understanding foresight’s study of the future and its part in the weave of scientific evidence, opinion and analysis that constitute policy development in a democratic society. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-83e788f8a2754bdda80b32e42140fdab |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2195-2248 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | SpringerOpen |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of Futures Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-83e788f8a2754bdda80b32e42140fdab2025-01-05T12:12:48ZengSpringerOpenEuropean Journal of Futures Research2195-22482025-01-0113111210.1186/s40309-024-00246-0The role of foresight in public policy: lessons from deliberative democracy and perspectival realismBrian Galvin0Programme Manager for Drug and Alcohol Research, Health Research BoardAbstract Foresight plays an important role in public policy development. The foresight learning process brings together various actors in the policy community and incentivizes them to think about the future. It encourages new ways of thinking and approaches to strategy and is a practical approach to using the future to inform decisions and actions in the present. Foresight faces challenges in becoming embedded in the policy process. One of these challenges is in establishing its epistemic authority when compared to natural science and social science disciplines. This paper argues foresight can benefit from developments in political theory and philosophy of science. Democratic deliberation is an approach to public discourse which emphasizes pluralism in debate and provides a detailed account of how reason-giving can add epistemic depth to foresight’s contribution to policy. Perspectival realism is a theory in philosophy of science which identifies the interplay between separate epistemic communities as the key mechanism in scientific development. The modal models that these epistemic communities create present a new way of understanding foresight’s study of the future and its part in the weave of scientific evidence, opinion and analysis that constitute policy development in a democratic society.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40309-024-00246-0PhilosophyPoliticsDeliberationEpistemologyRealismPerspectivism |
| spellingShingle | Brian Galvin The role of foresight in public policy: lessons from deliberative democracy and perspectival realism European Journal of Futures Research Philosophy Politics Deliberation Epistemology Realism Perspectivism |
| title | The role of foresight in public policy: lessons from deliberative democracy and perspectival realism |
| title_full | The role of foresight in public policy: lessons from deliberative democracy and perspectival realism |
| title_fullStr | The role of foresight in public policy: lessons from deliberative democracy and perspectival realism |
| title_full_unstemmed | The role of foresight in public policy: lessons from deliberative democracy and perspectival realism |
| title_short | The role of foresight in public policy: lessons from deliberative democracy and perspectival realism |
| title_sort | role of foresight in public policy lessons from deliberative democracy and perspectival realism |
| topic | Philosophy Politics Deliberation Epistemology Realism Perspectivism |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40309-024-00246-0 |
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