Foresight and Strategy:
Exploration of terra nullius, decolonization, and the futures of space.
Photo by S. Štefančík and NASA on Unsplash.
A team project completed as part of Strategy Development and Foresight Studio courses in the winter of 2021, during the second term at OCAD University as a Strategic Foresight & Innovation Candidate (MDes).
For this project, we were asked to explore space in the year 2048. After an initial trend and horizon scanning process, we formed groups based on topics of interest and applied foresight tools and methods to explore terra nullius and decolonization in the context of space and develop strategic recommendations based on our analysis.
Context: Three-month Master’s project with individual and group components; completed for our Foresight Studio and Strategy Development class.
Deliverables: Trends from horizon scanning, foresight scenarios, and strategic options.
Positionality Statement
For the scope of this work, we were limited to conducting only secondary research during a short period of time. We were not able to engage with the stakeholders discussed throughout this report or conduct any primary research.
Although we have made every effort to be as thorough and respectful as possible in considering our research and preparing this work, we all come from a predominantly Western worldview. We would like to acknowledge that there may be gaps and/or assumptions not identified during its creation.
Problem Space
Mind map.
As a team, we started by discussing topics that we associated with terra nullius to begin scoping a direction for our work.
Horizon Scanning
In our foresight course, we were asked to identify two signals related to space. These were the starting point for the trend scanning completed for our chosen topic space, terra nullius. The following are the brief summaries for the two signals I identified.
Words Matter
The current language used to describe space exploration and travel includes colonizing language, e.g. colonize, occupy, or settle.
3D Printing Space
Developing 3D printing technology to manage payload mass and make longer space missions more feasible.
Scenario Building
Photos from Unsplash. Full credits in the PDF report.
After defining the emerging trends and identifying key drivers, we developed five distinctive futures grounded in the year 2048. The year 2048 is used to provide sufficient plausible time for the world to have significantly changed, without being so far out as to be challenging to ground in current realities. It is 27 years in the future—approximately 7 Canadian federal election cycles have taken place, and a whole new generation (Gen Alphas) is entering the workforce.
TRANSFORM: Space Guests
The environment is recovering, and humans understand that life is more than just the plants and the animals, but all things biotic and abiotic and that every item has a part to play in a well functioning planet. The participatory economy supports a decentralized and cooperative governance structure built around consensus and stewardship. Humans treat travel of all kinds, including space travel like they are visiting a neighbour, and try to observe, appreciate and leave without a trace.