learning about scenario planning and thinking

To learn about the future and to see what kind of patterns and trends will affect your strategy it is always useful to rely on scenario planning. A scenario is basically a story that describes a potential future. For learning professionals it can be a powerful method to learn about the possible driving forces that will affect our world so that we can incorporate them in our future learning strategies. The development of a scenario entails a collaborate process, the creation of a common language and specific tools that can bring people from different backgrounds together. Jisc Infonet puts it as following:

Scenarios provide alternative views of the future. They identify some significant events, main actors and their motivations, and they convey how the world functions. Building and using scenarios can help us explore what the future might look like and the likely changes of living in it.

At Online Educa last year DELTA participated in a learning scenario planning exercise with Hans De Zwart and Willem Manders. During this meeting we mapped out the (corporate) learning environment, the important actors and the driving forces which gave us a solid base to map out different scenarios. Click here for an overview of the used scenario methodology.

The organisers of the workshop have already produced a video where you will see a glimpse of the results of the scenario planning exercise.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiBtFJ_Omv8&feature=player_embedded]

For DELTA this exercise was an enrichment in terms of using the scenario methodology as a facilitation method in our strategy workshops. We are currently collecting more background information about the methodology in order to transform it into a easy step by step instructional sheet on how to apply scenario s in your workshops and learning events. Feel free to provide us with additional background links. This is what we have so far:

What is scenario planning?
http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/tools/scenario-planning

Scenario planning resources
http://www.well.com/~mb/scenario_planning/

How to build scenario’s (wired)
http://www.wired.com/wired/scenarios/build.html

Scenariothinking.org
http://scenariothinking.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

Scenario’s : An explorer guide
http://www.shell.com/home/content/aboutshell/our_strategy/shell_global_scenarios/scenarios_explorers_guide/

Learning Scenario’s
http://learningscenarios.org/