The Futures Cone Reimagined: A Framework for Critical and Plural Futures Thinking

This article critically re-examines the Futures Cone, a foundational but frequently misapplied tool in foresight practice. Often treated as a forecasting method or creative prompt, the Cone is reframed here as a relational and epistemic scaffold that only gains meaning through reflective, participatory processes. Drawing on foresight theory, decolonial perspectives, and design facilitation, the paper introduces a five-stage framework to guide its responsible use. Grounded in narrative, emotion, and historical inquiry, this approach restores the Cone’s original intent to organize complexity and hold space for plural, situated possibilities.

Keywords:

Critical Futures, Futures Cone, Participatory Methods, Pedagogical Framework, Temporality

Read the full published article in the Journal of Futures Studies at https://jfsdigital.org/the-futures-cone-reimagined-a-framework-for-critical-and-plural-futures-thinking/