Identifying Signals: Building Awareness of Emerging Changes

Objective:

1. Understand what a signal is and why it matters in future forecasting.
2. Identify emerging signals in different domains (social, technological, environmental, economic, political).
3. Analyze and interpret signals to anticipate future trends.
4. Apply signal recognition skills to build future scenarios.

Identifying Signals in the World

Use the STEEP Framework (Social, Technological, Environmental, Economic, Political) to categorize signals.

1. Social Signals: Changes in behaviors, values, or demographics.
2. Technological Signals: Emerging tech developments and breakthroughs.
3. Environmental Signals: Climate change, sustainability innovations.
4. Economic Signals: New business models, shifts in global markets.
5. Political Signals: Policy changes, new governance models.

Analyzing and Interpreting Signals

Select one signal and analyze it using the following questions: