Intergenerational Foresight: An Approach for Long-Term Responsibility in Governance

The document introduces intergenerational foresight as an evolution of strategic foresight, moving it from a specialist function to an institutional capability. It argues that current governance is plagued by short-termism and a narrow distribution of authority, which excludes those most affected by long-term consequences. To address this, the handbook outlines core principles—temporal breadth, plurality of perspectives, shared authority, systems awareness, and legitimacy through inclusion—and provides regional 'provocations' to illustrate the approach in practice. These provocations cover issues such as 'temporal sovereignty' in Europe and Eurasia, contribution-based visibility in the MENA innovation economy, conditional bailouts in North America and the Caribbean, ecosystem-based prosperity in Latin America, ageing as a capability in East Asia, dual governance for resource management in Sub-Saharan Africa, and the integration of sacred knowledge in ASEAN and Oceania, as well as time-bound handover mandates in South Asia.

• Intergenerational foresight is defined as an approach to long-term decision-making that explicitly integrates intergenerational responsibility, bringing multiple generations, regions, and knowledge systems into shared authority over how the future is envisioned and governed.
• The handbook identifies a systemic gap where the temporal reach of decisions—such as climate and energy transitions—extends far beyond the short-term incentives and institutional silos that inform the decision-making process.
• In Europe and Eurasia, the document proposes the concept of 'temporal sovereignty' and a 'Future Optionality Index' (FOI) to measure governance by its ability to preserve the range of feasible futures and choices available to future generations.
• For the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), the handbook argues for a 'contribution-based visibility' model in the innovation economy to counter 'mirrortocracy' and prestige bias, where legitimacy is earned through societal contribution rather than proximity to power.
• In North America and the Caribbean, the document suggests 'conditional bailouts' to break the 'rescue-and-repeat' cycle, requiring that public rescue funds be tied to binding, community-co-designed structural reforms to reduce future vulnerability.
• For Latin America, the handbook proposes 'intergenerational compacts' that redefine prosperity through ecosystem health and the recognition of ecosystems as rights-bearing entities to move away from extractive growth models.
• In East Asia, the document argues for reframing ageing populations as a source of 'intergenerational capability' and resilience rather than a fiscal burden, utilizing older adults for mentoring and institutional memory.
• For Sub-Saharan Africa, the handbook proposes a 'Dual Governance Model' (DGM) for resource governance, where the state and community bodies share legally binding authority over licensing, monitoring, and benefit-sharing.
• In ASEAN and Oceania, the document suggests integrating 'sacred credibility'—ancestral and faith-informed knowledge systems—into formal governance to complement technical data and rebuild institutional trust.
• For South Asia, the handbook proposes 'time-bound handover mandates' for all community initiatives to ensure that assets, data, and authority are transferred to local leadership, preventing structural dependency on external actors.

APA

World Economic Forum (2026). Intergenerational Foresight: An Approach for Long-Term Responsibility in Governance. https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Intergenerational_Foresight_2026.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Intergenerational Foresight: An Approach for Long-Term Responsibility in Governance. 2026. https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Intergenerational_Foresight_2026.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Intergenerational Foresight: An Approach for Long-Term Responsibility in Governance |date=March 2026 |url=https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Intergenerational_Foresight_2026.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2026intergenerational, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Intergenerational Foresight: An Approach for Long-Term Responsibility in Governance}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2026}, month = mar, url = {https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Intergenerational_Foresight_2026.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }