Foresight capability and maturity for knowledge-intensive organizations

Abstract

The article develops an institutional maturity perspective for foresight capacity building in Knowledge-Intensive Organizations (KIO), as typically embedded in highly demanding dynamics of generation and use of knowledge, which is necessary for constructing comprehensive visions and studying the future. A foresight maturity grid is proposed as structured in five dimensions: people; sophistication of methods, platforms and infrastructures; complexity of application areas; organizational structure; and impact on the environment. Described in five maturity levels gradually progressing in organizational capabilities, they constitute an evolutionary logic operatively articulated in processes, projects and foresight cycles. The resulting grid, conceptually constructed in consideration of other proposals, guides the design and stabilization of foresight systems, forming a basis for the accumulation of organizational learning curves. An application case in a public KIO provides evidence of its usefulness and applicability in building foresight capabilities.