Tags: Foresight application and outcomes, Foresight methodologies, Development, South African Municipality, Local government Lima, Peru, Urban settlements, Nigeria, Science, Technology, Innovation policy, South Africa’s National Planning Commission, Scanning

From 2009 to 2013 the Rockefeller Foundation supported a horizon-scanning network of Searchlight grantees, most of which are located in the Global South. The Searchlight network has been at the core of Rockefeller’s efforts in the area of pro-poor foresight, an approach to develop impactful programmatic strategies in complex, rapidly changing contexts with and for the poor.

Scanning or – in other words – casting a wide net to find game-changing opportunities continues to be an integral part of the Foundation’s approach to achieving impact. To do so, in 2009 we decided to reach beyond the ‘usual suspects’. We identified a set of organizations, many of which we hadn’t worked with previously, to help us monitor emerging trends and see into areas beyond our normal scope. The most promising opportunities for impact are selected based on a set of predefined criteria and subsequently tested in a rigorous, evidence-based assessment process to decide whether they have the potential to become the cornerstone of one of the Foundation’s programmatic Initiatives.

Overall, the Searchlight funding achieved three goals: it built foresight capacity across the globe, demonstrated how future research methods can successfully be used in the development sector and contributed to the opportunity identification and risk management activities of philanthropic actors.

Dispatched From The Frontline Using pro-poor foresight to influence decision-making.pdf