The Moment We Are In
We are living through a period of extraordinary uncertainty, complexity and accelerated change.
- The challenges facing organisations, industries, cities and society are increasingly interconnected.
- Traditional approaches alone will not be enough.
- Most organisations spend significant time reacting to change.
What if we could...
- anticipate change rather than simply react to it?
- see emerging opportunities before they become obvious?
- collaborate to imagine possibilities that none of us might reach alone?
- By bringing diverse perspectives together, participants are encouraged to challenge assumptions, make unexpected connections and uncover possibilities that may otherwise remain invisible.
- The process helps organisations become more adaptive, innovative and resilient while creating a stronger sense of ownership and shared purpose among participants.
- Future Sprint creates the space, structure and conditions for people to think beyond immediate pressures, explore what could come next and design new pathways forward.
We choose design.
Every Future Sprint guides participants through a structured journey designed to expand how they see, explore design the future, before turning collective thinking into collective action.
Each interactive session utilises the following framework:
SEE → EXPLORE → DESIGN → ACTION
SEE THE FUTURE
Recognise emerging signals, changing behaviours and new realities that could shape what comes next.
EXPLORE THE FUTURE
Challenge assumptions, make unexpected connections and uncover new opportunities, risks and possibilities.
DESIGN THE FUTURE
Bring diverse perspectives together to imagine visionary concepts, scenarios and pathways forward.
ACTION THE FUTURE
Translate collective thinking into ideas, commitments and first moves that can begin shaping the future today.
The goal is not to predict the future but architect the future and the world we want.
UNDERNEATH THE EXPERIENCE IS A SOPHISTICATED ENGINE
Every Future Sprint is powered by a carefully curated methodology bringing together 50 learning, cognitive and futures-thinking principles and practices.
FUTURES-THINKING PRINCIPLES
Drawing from cognitive science, learning science, neuroscience, behavioural science, futures thinking, systems thinking, design thinking, creativity and collaboration, the methodology shapes how participants learn, see, explore, imagine and create.
DELIBERATELY SEQUENCED
The principles and practices are deliberately selected, combined and sequenced throughout the Future Sprint experience to help participants challenge assumptions, recognise emerging signals, make unexpected connections and uncover possibilities they might never reach alone.
DESIGNED TO REWIRE HOW WE THINK
Future Sprint prepares people to move beyond habitual ways of thinking and see what is changing, explore what could happen next and imagine new possibilities for the future.
The innovation isn’t any one methodology.
It’s the alchemy of fusing them together.
Future Sprint at
The Royal Society of Arts
Results:
17 sessions over 17 days
112+ participants engaged
41 future concepts created, including (24 Future Posters)
98.5% of participants said they learned something new
96.9% said the Future Posters opened up new possibilities
100% said they would recommend Future Sprint to others
Key Observation:
People are not disengaged from the SDGs.
They simply lack:
a place to contribute their perspective
a structured way to imagine and capture solutions
a platform to connect and collaborate across disciplines
Future Sprint demonstrated that when those conditions exist,
people don’t just discuss the future, they design it together.
In May 2026, the Royal Society of Arts hosted the inaugural Future Sprint, bringing together Fellows, business leaders, UN representatives, students and changemakers to explore all 17 Sustainable Development Goals over seventeen days.
Participants collaborated in small teams to design future scenarios for how each goal could be achieved by 2030, creating visual Future Posters and presenting their ideas in short sessions recorded for publication and media.
The Future Sprint programme, led by Jordan Waid, Founder of The PRECOG Lab, using PRECOG future intelligence methodology, which combines cultural signal recognition, collaborative foresight and future scenario design.
Making the Future Sprints Possible
Outputs from the programme include:
-
The BookA comprehensive record of Future Sprint #1, featuring Future Posters, participant insights, emerging patterns and practical pathways towards the SDGs. -
The DocumentaryCapturing the journey, participants and partner perspectives, conversations and a look behind the scene of the inaugural Future Sprint and what's next. -
The White PaperExploring themes such as collective intelligence, cognitive priming, future thinking and value creation. Developed and reviewed by committed participants, partners and RSA Fellows to advance key ideas and new pathways. -
The Global PlatformGrowing Future Sprint through new partnerships, organisations, universities and communities around the world and continue direct engagement with the UN and affiliated UN SDG Partners.
Don’t Wait for It.
Participants bring the ideas.
Partners make them happen.
Together, the impossible becomes possible.
Join us in building the next chapter of Future Sprint.
Get in touch to explore how you can be part of the programme.
Jordan Waid
Founder, The PRECOG Lab and Future Sprint
info@ThePrecogLab.com
