Energizing Futures: Investigating the Infusion of IT and Design into Novel Foresight Practices
Marie Curie Fellowship
Danish Technical University
2014-2016

This project advances applied and theoretical research into novel foresight methods. Taking the governance of emerging energy technologies as a focal area, this research investigates scenarios mediated through cutting-edge gaming, visualization, simulation and design techniques. This project involves two phases of qualitative research to empirically investigate the make-up, impact and products of novel foresight methods employed in the energy sector. Drawing on perspectives of anticipation, materiality and governance in the field of Science, Technology and Society (STS), this project seeks to 1) create a taxonomy of mediated scenarios; 2) characterize the nature and workings of such innovative foresight practices; and 3) develop two in-depth case studies involving the use of such methods in the field of energy in order to reveal the varied configurations of agency, temporality and culture. Through these inquiries this project builds up STS scholarship on anticipation and contributes to understanding best practices of foresight by elucidating the nature and workings of novel methods. 

Brief on the Project from FTA (Brussels '14)