12.11.2025 / News
The Făgăraș Research Institute announces the publication of “Community Foresight: A Guide for Local Communities Preparing for the Future,” (in Romanian) a practical tool designed to help local communities strengthen their collective capacity to anticipate and respond to current and future challenges.
Local communities in Romania and around the world are increasingly affected by a combination of crises and profound transformations, including climate change, technological disruption, social polarization, and economic instability. These factors put growing pressure on how communities function and plan for the future.
In this context, the guide introduces a clear and adaptable framework that enables local actors, including NGOs, local leaders, authorities, entrepreneurs, and civic groups, to develop community foresight processes – collective practices of learning, analysis, and strategic planning aimed at shaping the future together.
The publication outlines four key components of community foresight:
- Collective learning about current and emerging challenges;
- Facilitation of foresight processes and dialogue among local stakeholders;
- Development of community action plans;
- Design of community spaces for collaboration, learning, and innovation.
Through these processes, communities can build participatory and sustainable local governance, enhance their preparedness for crises, and strengthen a shared vision for the future.
The guide was developed within the “School for Sustainable Development – Community Foresight Network” program, supported by Raiffeisen Communities and the Association for Community Relations (ARC), carried out between 2024–2025. The initiative involved co-created and tested foresight and learning processes in two community spaces, @HomeinFăgăraș and Calbor College, with the participation of local organizations from across Romania.
The Făgăraș Research Institute invites local communities and organizations to explore the full publication and to apply these tools in their own contexts.
📘 The full publication is available on the Făgăraș Research Institute website.
🔗 To join the Community Foresight Network, please fill in this registration form.
📩 For feedback or to share your experiences with the guide, contact us at office@icf-fri.org.
The Făgăraș Research Institute (FRI) does not express official positions through its publications. The views expressed in FRI publications are those of the authors. The Făgăraș Research Institute is not responsible for how the content of its publications is used.
Departments: Society, Crisis and Rezilience; Policy Analysis and Outreach Department; The Center for Global Affairs and Postdevelopment (C-GAP); School for Sustainable Development; Educational Programs Department; Făgăraș Research Institute Publishing House.
Regions: Romania.
Themes: Cities; Civic Engagement; Civil Society; Education; Environment and Climate Change; Interdisciplinarity; Philanthropy and Community Development; Social Inequalities; Sustainable Development Goals.