Superstruct: IFTF’s Forecasting Breakthrough

I attended the Institute for the Future’s Ten-Year Forecast retreat at the new Cavallo Point Conference Center at Fort Baker recently, called “Superstructing the Next Decade.” The Grove is an affiliate of IFTF and a partner all during the 1990s when The Grove and IFTF were researching groupware and its implications for organization. Our mapping strategies have become a mainstream tool at IFTF as a consequence. We were invited this time to share our work with RE-AMP (the Midwest consortium of 100+ NGOs and 15 foundations working to clean up an eight-state energy infrastructure), as a living example of contemporary “superstructing”—defined as “Su`per`struct´ v. t. 1.To build over or upon another structure; to erect upon a foundation.” (You can see a post on RE-AMP on my blog or click here for the RE-AMP web site).

This superstructuring work is truly groundbreaking and worth a look if you are interested in how the digital natives are going to approach planning and forecasting. The Association of Professional Futurists (APF) had just honored SUPERSTRUCT as the “Most Important Futures Work of 2008!” IFTF’s Jane McGonigal, an expert on game structures, led the project that involved more than 7000 “Super-Empowered Hopeful Individuals” in inventing scenarios for 2019, and how five “super threats” would be faced.

Superstruct Game Archived Home Page

Superstruct was the world’s first massively multiplayer forecasting game. Players from all over the world told more than 1000 stories about their lives in 2019, launched more than 500 discussions, and invented more than 500 superstructures focused on the future of energy, food, health, security, and society. All of these ideas and conversations remain archived online for people to continue to explore and think about, at www.superstructgame.org. It’s well worth exploring.

Bob Johansen, our long-time colleague and Distinguished Fellow at IFTF, also presented about his new book, Leaders Make the Future: Ten New Leadership Skills for an Uncertain World. He advocates “maker instinct,” “immersive learning,” “clarity,” “rapid prototyping.” And “commons creating” among other skills—a real affirmation of getting people into “hands-on” planning and group processes like The Grove supports.

Bob Johansen