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A Stanford MediaX program

Foresight at Stanford

Stanford's Foresight initiative investigates the practice of foresight and best practices for vision-led innovation.

Our Focus

How do you start? Based in Silicon Valley and drawing on Stanford's legacy for educating world-changing innovators, inventors, and thinkers, foresight does not mean futuring or trend finding. Instead design foresight is about knowing where to go, about having a view of the future: a vision of knowing what to build and why. Our mission is to create leaders and teams who imagine and build with foresight across multiple innovation horizons. We invite you to join our foresight community, support and learn from our research activities, practice the methods and tools taught in our classes, and then apply your ideas and energy into world-changing impact.

Foresight Playbook cover
Publication Spotlight

Playbook for Strategic Foresight and Innovation

Looking for practical foresight methods? Download a free PDF of our playbook (or buy a print version) as your in-house guide.

Download PDF
EVENT -- SUMMER 2021

Stanford Innovation Studio Summer 2021

Whether you already know how you’re going to change the world, or you’re still searching for your passion, this virtual team and project-based experience will help you develop the right mindset and skills to take on a future technology “moonshot” challenge. Four 1-hour synchronous sessions, asynchronous team tasks, and open channel coaching check-ins will stretch over two weeks and culminate in a virtual showcase.

June 28, June 30, July 2, July 7, July 9

Inside Bill's Brain

"Serious Business Chops and Ambitious Idealism"

Learn how Patagonia's recent CEO is making merging business and idealistic goals in her new roles, and how it builds on the workd Stanford Foresight has led for 20 years.

Project Spotlight

"What If?" Game Series

Explore possible future scenarios and test alternate perspectives – on themes such as health, entertainment or logistics – with others through our online, expert-facilitated, serious game series.

Learn more

We conduct our work as part of the Foresight Innovation Forum in the mediaX program at Stanford.