What is FLAT?

The research unit on Futures Literacy and Anticipation Theory (FLAT) develops Futures Studies and provides refreshingly new perspectives of societal challenges and offers the post-graduate Master program on Social Foresight, (https://www.unitn.it/master-previsione-sociale).

What about the program in Social Foresight?

The Master program on Social Foresight has been the first and it is still the only Italian academic program in Futures Studies. The Master presently in its ninth edition, has been the first and it is still the only Italian academic program in Futures Studies. For further information, see https://www.unitn.it/master-previsione-sociale.
Among the activities connected to the past and future aims of FLAT, the following two events are worth mentioning:

  • The first international conference on Anticipation was organized in Trento in 2015 (followed by London 2017 and Oslo 2019; the fourth international Anticipation conference will take place in Tempe, Arizona, and is scheduled for November 2022 (http://anticipationconference.org/). 
  • The first International Winter School on Futures Literacy and the Foundations of Futures Studies, scheduled for 10-14 October 2022, is a major training opportunity for futurists. The school’s speakers are Eva Feukeu, Roumiana Gotseva, Riel Miller and Roberto Poli. For further information, see [https://webmagazine.unitn.it/en/evento/sociologia/104849/futures-literac...

Which research areas?

Among others, FLAT has contributed to the following research areas:

  1. The theoretical framework of Futures Studies
  2. Classification of future-related methods
  3. Anticipatory Governance
  4. Mixed-methods research and application of participative approaches in educational and training contexts (futures workshops)
  5. Robust decision models for medium to long-range scenarios and multi-agent simulation techniques
  6. Analysis of change patterns in social and political systems
  7. Explorative techniques for data analysis (multi-dimensional and flow datasets)

Members of the Research Unit are: 

Stefano Benati
Francesca Odella
Roberto Poli (coordinator)

Department of Economy and Management

Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering