A proposal of a new foresight platform considering of sustainable development goals

Abstract The National Institute of Science and Technology Policy (NISTEP) has conducted foresight activities for decades. In recent years, the speed of social change has increased and the complexity in politics and economics has also increased. As such, it has become difficult to look forward appropriate in a timely manner using only conventional methods, and thus the development of various methods is encouraged. Conversely, the formation of a sustainable society faces many difficulties on the international front and many goals for global issues have been set. However, efforts and results for sustainable development are not necessarily desirable. In this study, we examined whether we could effectively solve social problems by combining the development of a foresight approach with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). First, we reviewed the concepts of sustainable development. Next, we examined the target of SDGs appropriately to convert our foresight activities. Finally, we propose a future public platform (FPP) for scenario planning in foresight. As a result, we found the importance of considering the SDGs in foresight. We also examined the concept of sustainable development, considering how to integrate the SDGs into foresight, and propose the FPP with SDGs. This FPP effectively involves five SDG targets and appears to be highly executable. Though the system of FPP has a certain difficulty, we could exchange information among experts who are studying SDGs and foresight. Thus, as a case study of connections between foresight and SDGs, it would be helpful for other countries