What If There Were More Policy Futures Studios?

This essay appears in a special issue on design and futures in the Journal of Futures Studies. In a context in which policy making practices and institutions are in flux as they face multiple challenges, the essay reviews some of the literature on how foresight and design relate to policy development. It then suggests key characteristics of the 'policy futures studio', a proposed capability for addressing public issues through foresight and design. These are: publics and problems revealed as “in the making”; materialising potential futures as people experience them; zooming in and out; translating between different kinds of data and expertise; and opening up participation. It concludes by suggesting policy futures studios will not design definitive solutions, but they may design better problems.