ESRC Policy Fellowship: Sustainable Futures
Lead Research Organisation:
University of the West of England
Department Name: Faculty of Environment and Technology
Abstract
Each fellowship will last up to 18 months to cover a three-month inception phase for set up activity, followed by a 6-12-month placement with the host organisation, and concluding with an impact phase lasting up to three months. Fellows will co-design projects and activities with their host and produce analysis to inform government decision-making across a range of policy priorities. Fellows will also engage across the host organisation, building effective working relationships and supporting wider knowledge exchange with researchers. This will be supported through their embedded role within the host organisation, including line management support.
Publications
De Vito L
(2023)
Strategic Foresight and Policy Evaluation: Insights for an Integrated Approach
in European Journal of Risk Regulation
De Vito L
(2023)
Another brick in the wall? : the case for embedded foresight
| Description | I have provided evidence and insights of different models of Strategic Foresight in governments to support long-term decision-making. This is seen as key to effective delivery of the Well-being of Future Generations Act and will support the Welsh Government in exploring opportunities for further development of Futures and Strategic Foresight. I have identified pathways for integration and development of strategic foresight within government organisations, including some key recommendations tailored to the Welsh Government but that will be relevant for other governments as well. |
| Exploitation Route | The Sustainable Futures Division within the Welsh Government will be able to use my findings to shape and inform their strategy for the development of Futures and Foresight |
| Sectors | Government Democracy and Justice |
| URL | https://www.gov.wales/foresight-for-sustainable-development-and-wellbeing-governance-in-wales |
| Description | This research project provided the Welsh Government with evidence and insights on the application of futures and foresight for sustainable development and well-being. Policy pilots with Welsh Government teams have contributed to skills and capability development and sparked interest for further applications of these methods. Participation in international conferences and events as well as direct engagement with other European governments and international organisations has increased the visibility of existing Welsh Government activities in this space and have paved the way for future collaboration. Delivering the recommendations in the report will form part of a new post in Welsh Government to create the next WG Future Trends Report, publication of which is a statutory commitment under The Well-being of Future Generations Act. The Report was used as part of the business case for creating the new post and it is mentioned in the job description. The report has also contributed to the Welsh Government running an event on March 20 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2002 |
| Impact Types | Policy & public services |
| Description | Policy impact |
| Geographic Reach | Europe |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Impact | Knowledge exchange and cross-learning between two government teams working on strategic foresight and long-term thinking in policymaking |
| Description | Envision - the Futures Network |
| Organisation | Government of Portugal |
| Country | Portugal |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Intellectual inputs on use of futures and foresight methodology |
| Collaborator Contribution | Intellectual inputs on use of futures and foresight methodology |
| Impact | N/A |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | International seminar and workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Contribution to the ECIUniversity challenge with a talk and workshop based on this award's activity. University of Trento, Italy. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | OECD Annual Community Annual Meeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | I presented the research project at the OECD Annual Foresight Community meeting. This sparked interest in the Welsh Approach and increased the visibility of the research project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Policy team workshops |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | A series of 6 workshops with 3 Welsh Government policy teams (2 sessions for each groups). The workshops were a learning-by-doing exercise where futures and foresight methodologies were directly applied to live policy projects to increase effectiveness of long-term decision making and to increase the application of the Welsh Government Future Trends Report. The workshops had both a capability & skills angle and a substantive angle through working on real and current policy projects. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022,2023 |
| Description | Presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of the research to an expert panel hosted by the National School of Public Administration and senior civil servants from several Italian ministers |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Presentation to online seminar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Seminar for the Italian Institute for Futures Studies |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Strategic Foresight in Policymaking |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | A one-day contribution to a Strategic Foresight Lab (audience: civil servants from Italian public administrations) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |