I’m starting this update knowing that this year has probably been the maddest of my entire career but also the most affirming and exciting. It turned into a year of discovery, and in the remaking, it has given me the time to really work out where I want to be in 10 years’ time, build strong foundations and a renewed commitment to intentionally building a future that feels possible and hopeful.
Over the years, I’ve been so lucky to hold so many amazing roles organising and promoting events, working in tourism and helping shape experiences that connected people through culture. But last year, I hit a crossroads. Something didn’t feel right anymore, I was disillusioned by watching the constant restrategising of plans before they’d been able to make a difference on the ground and of looking around and realising that the future was being created without a knowledge of the tools to see long term strategic success. Communities were no longer at the heart of conversations around co-creating work that was authentic and that really spoke to the voice of responsibility for the future.
I started asking myself new questions. What would it look like to design futures that are not only strategic, but deeply human? How do we create space for uncertainty, curiosity and co-creation? Where do we find frameworks that not only help us see what’s next — but help us feel it, live it, build towards it?
I took the time to research how organisations and communities across the UK and Internationally were making a difference in their work and I stumbled across the International Futures Forum and some case studies on the Three Horizons Framework and the success it had in changing the face of futures thinking and planning.
I reached out to Rebecca Ford, Director of the International Futures Forum to see if they would be running any trainings and did a little happy dance when she replied and said they were running a course in Spring 2025. And it did not disappoint! I got to learn from Bill Sharpe who developed the Framework alongside his colleagues at H3 Uni, and it was facilitated by Rebecca, and my only complaint was that I didn’t want it to end!
What followed was an experience that has reshaped how I think, collaborate, and imagine. It was such a generous space to learn and grow, all the participants shared their knowledge (my google bookmarks from the group chat has well over 70 links to new areas of thinking and knowledge to delve into!) and it was an incredibly welcoming and safe space. It was so interesting to engage with people worldwide on ways we can make a difference, and to quote Rebecca, ‘give hope a seat at the table’.
So, what is the Three Horizons Framework?
It’s a simple framework that will bring people together to have a transformative conversation about what’s happening today, the future we want to create together, and the kinds of innovations that exist to help us get there – using three different horizons to map out our collective thinking.
The Framework holds space for all the voices around the table, from the manager working to maintain stability to the visionary dreaming of a new world and the entrepreneur eager to start building. It’s so common for these voices to clash but the Three Horizons Framework creates an alignment through a shared understanding of where we are and where we might want to go and making sure that all voices are heard in the process.
It creates a new way of seeing; it creates a bridge between complexity and clarity in our radically changing world. It encourages a holistic and futures orientated approach and for decisions to be created that are more resilient and sustainable in the long term.
Anyone can use the framework to make a difference, it’s currently being used widely across healthcare, education, policy and it has been used in start up’s, global companies, national governments, the UN, community groups and schools.
It can be used in very intense ways to drive strategy as well as used in quick fire formats to get everyone onto the same page and shift a group’s thinking.
Since completing the training, I’ve been delving deeper with the framework and working with so much of the knowledge that was shared — not just applying it but letting it re-pattern my own thinking. I’ve been reading Bill’s book – ‘The Patterning of Hope’, where he writes, “We must live in our truth without claiming to know the truth of others.” And this feels vital — to hold both our present reality and future possibility with grace, and to recognise that consciousness itself is part of the design.
This isn’t about forecasting. It’s about co-creating our vision for the future and actively participating in what comes next.
So, it’s been a really busy year for me, I had the chance to work on some really exciting and interesting projects that have given me a safe space to develop and grow, and I’ve taken that time to learn, and I’m looking forward to helping organisations and communities develop a deeper vision and sustainable long-term plans that are collaborative, resilient and authentic.
Here’s to new horizons, connections, knowledge and giving hope a seat at the table and an exciting vision for the future.