Futures Thinking in Asia and the Pacific: Why Foresight Matters for Policy Makers

This handbook shows how the Asian Development Bank (ADB) piloted futures thinking and foresight to understand entry points to support transformational change and fi
nance the future of Asia and the Pacifi
c.

Futures thinking and foresight is a powerful planning approach that can help the region meet economic, political, social, and environmental and climate change challenges. The publication compiles lessons from an ADB initiative to apply futures and foresight tools in Armenia, Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, the People's Republic of China, the Philippines, and Timor-Leste. Futures terminology is introduced as are specific tools such as emerging issues analysis, scenario planning, and backcasting. It also describes how futures and foresight tools were applied in the countries.