Cynthia selin

Dr. Cynthia Selin is a social scientist and strategic foresight expert who explores the theory and practice of anticipation and develops methodologies to navigate complex change.

Her research sits at the intersection of Science and Technology Studies (STS) and foresight to examine how individuals, organizations, and institutions envision and respond to emerging technologies. Throughout her career, Dr. Selin has pioneered new approaches to foster deeper, more imaginative thinking about alternative futures, aiming to cultivate more sustainable, equitable, and just systems. In developing methodologies that illuminate the social, political, and ethical dimensions of innovation under conditions of deep uncertainty, her work advances understanding of how individuals and institutions conceptualize the long term and act responsibly amid radical uncertainty.

Dr. Selin is an Associate Fellow at the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, where she is core faculty in the Oxford Scenarios Programme and teaches executives globally. She is a former Associate Professor in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society and the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University, USA, where she founded the Center for the Study of Futures and remains a Faculty Fellow at the Center for Science and the Imagination.

In 2017, Dr. Selin founded Scenaric, a consulting firm that creates rigorous, research-grounded processes that help organizations navigate uncertain futures and act with greater foresight. Drawing on over two decades of experience in scenario planning, strategy, and engagement design, she partners with clients to clarify challenges, test strategies, identify opportunities, and shape policy options.

Her body of work includes over 40 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, edited volumes, and special issues on foresight, the anticipatory governance of emerging technologies, and sustainability. Dr. Selin has secured major competitive research funding from the U.S. National Institute of Health and the National Science Foundation, and her contributions have been recognized with the Olga Amsterdamska Award, the British Academy of Management Education Practice Award, the Arizona State University President’s Award for Sustainability and a European Commission Marie Curie Fellowship.

As a speaker and educator, she delivers keynotes and presentations globally. She holds a PhD in Knowledge and Management from Copenhagen Business School's Institute for Politics, Philosophy and Management, an MA in Science and Technology Studies from Roskilde University (Denmark), and a BA in American Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

A copy of Dr. Selin's CV may be found here.