Friends,

As many of you know, this year IFTF is celebrating its 40th Anniversary—an important milestone in the life of the Institute and in the futures field. I’m proud to be a part of the IFTF team at this juncture when the Institute is experiencing a new level of energy and excitement. With our incredible staff and affiliates, many of whom are recognized as leading edge thinkers in their fields, and development of new revolutionary research processes and platforms, it is truly a watershed moment in our organizational history and future. And, of course, we wouldn’t be here without the continued belief, investment and relationships with you and your organizations, so it is with heartfelt thanks that I am writing today.

Our anniversary has given us an impetus for conducting an in-depth visioning and strategy exercise. I want to share with you, our community, the results of this process and some of the steps we are taking to make our vision a reality. I see them as seeds for the next 40 years of IFTF’s growth. Here are the highlights:

Emphasis on Social Action Research
The IFTF not-for-profit mission is to “catalyze the global community to think systematically about the future.” Our role is becoming more critical than ever before, with a need for us to actively promote the literacy of futures thinking to broader layers of the population and to a variety of global organizations. We call this initiative social action research. To help us fulfill the vision, we recently established The Fund for Participatory Foresight in memory of Roy Amara, IFTF President, 1971–1990. Current initiative highlights include:
• Youth voices and the future of education with the Knowledgeworks Foundation
• The future of active giving with Interact for Change
• Developing a disaster readiness platform with the Art Center College of Design

Innovation in Forecasting Methodologies
Since our founding in 1968, IFTF has been a leader in the field of futures forecasting. The pioneering work of Olaf Helmer led to one of the first systematic futures methodologies, the Delphi Method. Over the years, we’ve introduced new mapping and future design techniques, futures group processes, and integrated ethnographic methods into futures thinking.

Recently, we have begun designing new platforms and methodologies that leverage the “wisdom of crowds” to discover and synthesize robust forecasts. We are currently creating a new generation of game-based forecasting platforms—Massively Multiplayer Forecasting Games (MMFG’s)—collaborative, open-source simulations of possible futures. The 2009 Ten-Year Forecast will feature SuperStruct, an MMFG that explores a world where five super threats inspire players to invent new superstructures for human cooperation. We see these becoming sine equa non for systematic futures thinking.

Flexible, Robust Network Organization
We continue to evolve IFTF as a highly networked organization incorporating multiple levels of participation, from full time staff, to affiliates with whom we work on a project basis, to the larger network of fellow future thinkers who we bring together under the umbrella of Future Commons. The highly networked structure enables us to build increased flexibility and resilience into the organization, something we identified as a key skill for organizations in the future. We are excited about the recent additions in all levels within IFTF. For more information about the new faces, please visit us at www.iftf.org or go directly to the IFTF staff directory.

Finally, we see our financial health as a sign of this organizational vibrancy. I am happy to report that despite the gloomy economic market conditions, our financial performance has been outstanding. Our revenues and assets continue to grow at a higher than projected rate, enabling us to invest in new staff, new research platforms, and more social initiatives.

As we are halfway through 2008, we look forward to continued growth in our research, methods, and, more importantly, our partnership with you. Thank you for thinking and engaging with us and for all your support and contributions.

Sincerely,

Marina Gorbis
Executive Director, Institute for the Future