The Three Horizons Approach
Description
This open access book offers the first comprehensive synthesis of the Three Horizon approach-a participatory approach first introduced by Anthony Hodgson and colleagues, for understanding how change happens in complex systems, envisioning possible and desired futures, and navigating the paths between. The framework provides a versatile scaffolding for navigating complex transitions that translates readily across disciplines, sectors, and worldviews, enabling collaboration across difference-what scholars call a "boundary object". It reveals how current systems (Horizon 1) lose fit over time, how alternative possibilities (Horizon 3) emerge from the margins, and how the turbulent space between (Horizon 2) becomes the site of transformative change.
This edited collection offers a comprehensive synthesis of Three Horizons theory and practice, weaving together contributions from the framework's co-originators with global case studies, practical tips, and tools. It moves from conceptual foundations through applied practice to deeper questions of perception, hope, and transformative capacity-exploring collective sense-making, strategic reflection, and systemic learning. In a world navigating polycrisis-from climate change and technological disruption to social transformation-Three Horizons approach offers a rare integration of systemic thinking and creative imagination. This book makes that integration accessible and actionable, an essential resource for academics and practitioners in possibility studies, future and anticipation studies, education, sustainability and environmental sciences, and social change.
More details
Persons
Trace Gale
is Senior Researcher at the Centro de Investigación en Ecosistemas de la Patagonia (CIEP) in Chile. Her participatory action research uses Three Horizons with communities navigating territorial transitions in Patagonia.
Andrew Curry
is an internationally known futurist, writer, and facilitator who has been central to the development of Three Horizons as both theory and practice.
Sue Robinson
is a psychotherapist and Three Horizons practitioner. Her work bridges psychological insight with futures practice, illuminating how inner and outer transformation intertwine.
Sahar Hadidimoud
is a futures practitioner, facilitator, and editor working at the intersection of futures and strategy, with over a decade of experience introducing futures thinking into organizations across sectors.
Content
Section 1: Reading the Landscape - Understanding and Navigating Change through the Three Horizons Approach.- Chapter 1: Locating Three Horizons.- Chapter 2: Bringing Foresight into Systems Thinking through Three Horizons.- Chapter 3: Visions, Strategic Concepts, Assumptions, Robust Pathways (VSCARP) Methodology and the Three Horizons Framework in Participatory Foresight.- Chapter 4: Three Horizons of AI Revisited: How Are We Doing?- Chapter 5: Impact and adaptation to the use of First-Person View drones in ground combat by the Spanish Army.- Chapter 6: Three Horizons and Seeds of Good Anthropocenes: Envisioning Transformative Futures.- Section 2: Building Bridges - Multi-Cultural & Multi-Perspective Integration through Three Horizons.- Chapter 7: Facilitating Constructive Conversations: The Power of Three Horizons in Organizational Change.- Chapter 8: Getting Emulsional - Using Three Horizons To Help Navigate Contrasting Perspectives On Futures.- Chapter 9: Building Bridges Across Cultural Boundaries: Three Horizons and Inclusive Transformation at the London Museum.- Chapter 10: Mapping Leadership Across Time: The Three Horizons Framework as a Catalyst for Transformational Development.- Chapter 11: Building Bridges Across Care Cultures - Three Horizons and the SHINE Transformation in Scottish Healthcare.- Chapter 12: Bridging Energy Divides - Three Horizons as a Multi-Stakeholder Integration Tool in Alberta's Electricity Future.- Section 3: Pathways to Transformation - Using Three Horizons to Navigate Beyond Incremental Change.- Chapter 13: Bridging Horizons and the Story of Change: An Intergenerational Dialogue on Creativity, Complexity and the Future of Learning.- Chapter 14. Take a Walk in My Shoes: New Horizons for Sisters and Brothers with Experience of Care.- Chapter 15. Strategizing Sustainability & Circularity through the Three Horizons in Thrift Infrastructures.- Chapter 16: Beyond Innovation Theater: Using Three Horizons to Distinguish Transformative Change from System Reproduction in Conservation Governance.- Chapter 17. Embodied Foresight: Cultivating Future Consciousness Through Three Horizons Practice for Transformative Change.- Chapter 18. The Alchemy of Hope: Exploring Jungian Transformation Within Three Horizons Practice.- Chapter 19: Putting Three Horizons into Practice - A Practitioner's Guide to Facilitation, Resources, and Common Questions.