The Future Lives Study Programme will run throughout 2011 and combine elements of our previous 'Digital Lives Research' and our more general social change and Political, Economic, Social and Technological change forecasting.
It is now inappropriate to see 'things Digital' as somehow separate to the 'lived lives' of individuals, indeed to a very real extent we all live 'hybrid' lives combining the 'virtual or on-line' with traditional physical worlds in a seamless interleaved experience. To talk of 'channels' or digital and non-digital is mistaken and no longer relevant.
The Future Lives Study Programme will continue to monitor and assess the adoption of innovations in technology and media for the impact upon individual and more social structural behaviours. However it will provide much greater context, exploring these impacts against the broader backgrounds of political, economic and social change.
This work will draw on primary, secondary and expert sources, both nationally and internationally to ensure we create the most interpretive future scenarios, creating applied scenarios will be a key element of the work. It will focus on both the shorter term, from today for the next 18 months and much more explicitly than previously on the mid to longer term, five to ten years hence. In so doing we are seeking to provide a predictive and powerful guide to future behavioural trajectories.
There will be several opportunities to gain access to this work, these will include involvement in specific projects, access to workshops for corporate strategy or planning purposes and the creation of specific papers or presentations for both organisations internal and external purposes. It is envisaged that there will be some limited opportunities for organisations to directly Partner with SFO in elements of the Programme. More details of opportunities for involvement will be announced on this page as the Programme moves towards full launch.