Trends and Discontinuities: Charting a Canadian Research Agenda

Abstract

Strategic foresight aims at reducing uncertainty about future events. It seeks to discern significant trends that are likely to shape future events, and explores both the probability and the impact of possible developments, events or shocks. Strategic foresight can thus be used as a useful tool to establish research priorities. Research can offer comparative insights into the intended and unintended consequences of a range of possible policy options. It can provide an evidence-base in support of decision-making, but also holds out the potential to perform a "red-teaming" challenge function. Such knowledge is particularly valuable in a time of fiscal austerity: when resources are a premium, allocation should be optimized. This concluding chapter seeks to distill the research notes and workshop discussion. The analysis is designed to enhance scholarly capacity on the intersection of transnational trends and concomitant federal stakeholder departments' priorities with respect to national and border security. It does so by highlighting key trends and discontinuities and formulating possible lines of inquiry.