Futures construction in public management

Abstract

Purpose – This exploratory article aims to define foresight and consider its use in public management. Impediments to foresight best practices are also discussed. Design/methodology/approach – The research is based on the literature, including both primary and secondary sources. Canada serves as a case study to discuss foresight practices. Findings – Foresight has the potential to be useful from a governance perspective. Foresight practices, however, are limited by the need to overcome departmental boundaries, political impediments and, arguably, governments' abating policy capacity. Research limitations/implications – The purpose of this article is to introduce foresight limiting to an extent the depth of the analysis. Canada is neither a foresight leader nor at the bottom of the list. Conclusions drawn from this case are, despite differing political and administrative contexts, representative of problems faced by many governments in using foresight. Originality/value – The field of public management has paid little attention to foresight, though governments do make use of this instrument. This article is one of the first to consider foresight, not from the perspective of the futures field, but from that of the discipline of public management.