Moving beyond citizen assemblies and traditional public engagement, participatory futures techniques help people to develop a collective image of the future they want, so that we can make better, more informed decisions.

Governments, city leaders, public institutions, funders, and civil society must be at the forefront of this approach, supporting it through funding, strategy and practice.

Our guide contains practical suggestions for how to do this. Examples include:

• Carrying out publicly-funded, mission-orientated research that is informed by participatory futures exercises.
• Creating new legislation that requires UK Government departments to use these approaches to inform decision-making and strategies.
• Embedding these approaches in the Civil Service Competency Framework and equivalent frameworks for local government and charities.

Photo by Richard Clyborne of Music Strive