The Futures and Policy Lab is OsloMet’s hub for futures-oriented critical thinking, development of futures methods and techniques, and research-driven experimentation and organizational development based on futures studies.
Our mission is to strengthen OsloMet’s ability to anticipate, question, and shape long-term societal developments and build expertise for an unpredictable world, in line with OsloMet’s 2050 strategic ambition (oslomet.no) – to advance research-based knowledge that benefits people and contributes to just, secure, equitable, sustainable, and democratic societies and human flourishing and welfare.
The need for critical futures thinking has never been greater.
In a polycrisis-dominated reality, it is easy to exaggerate frightening trends, imagine dystopic future scenarios, and visualize future threats. It is far more difficult to imagine beyond the current narrative, envision positive alternatives, and try to make them a reality.
Policy Lab aims to contribute to this difficult task: we move beyond the purely utilitarian approaches to foresight, seeking instead to expand the capacity of people, professions, and researchers to imagine differently, and break out of epistemic closure and path dependencies, and take a more active role preparing for and shaping alternative futures.
Read more about the Three Pillars of the Futures and Policy Lab
