Back from the Future: The Backcasting Wheel for Mapping a Pathway to a Preferred Future
David Ν. Βengston, Lynne M. Westphal, Michael J. Dockry
Abstract
Backcasting is a Futures method that starts with a preferred future and works back to the present, identifying actions over time needed to achieve the preferred future. But there are few specifics in the Backcasting literature on how to develop the pathway that connects a preferred future to the present. This article describes a participatory process for Backcasting that uses a structure similar to the Futures Wheel to develop the pathway from the preferred future back to the present. A case study of U.S. Forest Service organizational planning is used to illustrate the method.
Topics & Concepts
BackcastingFutures contractProcess (computing)Futures studiesService (business)Process managementComputer scienceBusinessMarketingArtificial intelligenceSustainabilityEcologyBiologyOperating systemFinanceForest Management and PolicySustainability and Climate Change GovernanceComplex Systems and Decision Making