Regional Foresight aims to provide inputs that can enhance strategy and policy planning in regions, municipalities and localities. Drawing on the recognition that knowledge about developments that may shape the future is scattered widely in societies, so that no one organisation can possess all of the relevant knowledge, it emphasises networking as a means of accessing such knowledge. Since the future concerns us all, this also means that Foresight is oriented toward involving more of the population – or at least of key stakeholders – in creating visions and in mobilising collective strategic actions.

This “Practical Guide” aims to explain how Foresight can be used, especially in regions and sub- national territories. It sets out different approaches to Foresight, and when and where their use may be appropriate. In particular, it discusses how local conditions have to be taken into account in the design of a Foresight process. The Guide is largely structured in terms of a question-and-answer format. In the outline below, we indicate which question addresses each of the issues summarised.

Many of the answers to the questions are not of the form, “you should do A, B, C”, but rather of the form “it all depends...”. What we have tried to do, is to explain what it depends on, so that you can decide what steps are necessary on the basis of your assessment for your regional situation. We welcome feedback that might help us give more precision to some of these answers!