Nunn School assistant professor Margaret E. Kosal gave two invited talks at the School of International Futures (SOIF) Conference on strategic forecasting and horizon scanning. In her keynote, “The Impact of Technology Trends on Security: Uncertainty, Complexity, and Interdependence,” she spoke on anticipating emerging technology trends and the potential impacts on international security.

Kosal also spoke on an international panel on the use of scenarios in real-world policy environments, highlighting work she led on threat scenarios and countermeasures scenarios for capability development using nanotechnology, biotechnology, and cognitive neuroscience for the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and for the US Army. Held at the historic Wilton Park, the event brought together experts in strategic policy-making, global governance, and representatives of European and Asian Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs.

The SOIF 2014 retreat brought together international participants for 5 days of talks and discussion on strategic foresight and horizon scanning, comparative forecasting techniques including scenarios, complexity and knowledge management, the role of narrative in developing and communicating futures, and the impact of technological trends on security. The School of International Futures (SOIF) is an independent, non-governmental organization based in the UK where global policy officials, business leaders, analysts and activists learn foresight methods and imagine the future together. At SOIF retreats and courses, participants learn from our faculty, are inspired by invited expert guest speakers, and given advice by leaders who have already used foresight to make a difference in the world.

Strategic foresight is a method for planning and decisions-making in a complex world. Integrating analysis and expert views from a wide range of disciplines, it is used to generate scenarios that are directly relevant to the issues organizations face and to assess the implications of these scenarios for business and policy.

Historic Wilton Park in southeast England provides a global forum for strategic discussion. Established in 1946 as part of an initiative inspired by Sir Winston Churchill on German post-war democracy, Wilton Park has pursued its objective to address and resolve global challenges to security, prosperity, and justice. More on the strategic and global political history of Wilton Park.

The Sam Nunn School of International Affairs draws on its unique setting at one of the world’s leading technological universities and on the unparalleled integrity and insight of the distinguished senator for which it is named to deliver innovative programs and cutting-edge research that integrate technology and the study of international affairs.