Open Scan - Cities Edition.
Learn, imagine and discuss key changes impacting the future of Canadian municipalities in 2040.
What is Open Scan?
Open Scan is a virtual monthly gathering of Canadian municipal innovators who are interested in applying their strategic foresight knowledge and learning with peers.
At each monthly session, Creative Futures will share the latest emerging trends, and facilitate a series of foresight activities to explore long-term implications.
Upcoming sessions.
Futures of ?
Coming in 2025
Open Scan explores a variety of topics, and their implications for the futures of cities. In 2025, we are excited to explore new domains, while revisiting past topics. Stay tuned for news on the 2025 line-up.
Sign up now for updates.
Space is limited. Be the first to secure a spot.
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About Open Scan.
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Open Scan is designed for municipal innovators, from government, government agencies and not-for-profit organizations, who have some knowledge of strategic foresight. However, it is open to everyone.
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This is a highly participatory session, not a webinar. At each session expect to:
Learn about the latest emerging changes that may impact the municipal context;
Discuss implications of emerging changes with fellow foresight practitioners; and,
Join a broader group of municipal innovators and foresight practitioners to learn from each other and support your work.
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At each virtual session, Creative Futures will bring emerging signals of change that have been specifically chosen to reflect the municipal context, and we will use the session to discuss possible future implications.
Each session will be focused on a specific topic, announced in advance.
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No cost. Open Scan is free to attend.
Tell us what the next Open Scan topic should be:
Past Sessions.
Open Scan: Think Like a Futurist
June 2024
Think Like a Futurist program details.
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Week 1: Introduction to strategic foresight (2 hours)
Week 2: Developing futures trends & scenarios (2 hours)
Week 3: How to use scenarios to inform future-focused decisions (2 hours)
Week 4: Implementing successful foresight projects (90 mins)
Please note: Approximately 30 mins of homework will be assigned Week 1 - 3
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Think Like a Futurist is for people with limited to no prior experience with strategic foresight that work for a municipality (or other levels of government directly related to cities) or a non-profit organization engaged in city building programs.
For the month of June in 2024, Open Scan took a bit of a different approach and offerred an introductory strategic foresight program. Think Like a Futurist is a virtual four-part futures training series for municipal innovators. Held weekly, this program provided participants with the basics of strategic foresight and an opportunity to develop future thinking skills through a highly participatory applied learning environment.
Why? A recent study of 140 global CEOs found that thinking like a futurist is one of the most important leadership skills for 2030. As cities continue to face increasingly complex, uncertain and volatile environments, the ability to make decisions based on the future is critical.
Are you interested in attending a future training series? Join the Think Like a Futurist waitlist:
Futures of Aging
Wednesday, November 27, 2024 at 11:30 am ET
By 2040, it is projected that 22.7% of Canada’s population will be over 65 years of age, up from 17.6% in 2019. Canada's aging population poses significant challenges and opportunities for health & well-being, homes & living arrangements, relationships & belonging, economy & finances, leadership & decision making and many others. While Canada is not alone in this demographic shift, there are a wide range of policy implications associated with these population dynamics.
Earlier this year, Creative Futures teamed up with the CSA Public Policy Centre to conduct a future-focused research project on aging in Canada, exploring future possibilities and implications. On November 27th Open Scan previewed this research, and discussed implications for municipalities across Canada.
Futures of Generative AI
Wednesday, October 23, 2024 at 11:30 am ET
Generative AI (artificial intelligence that uses prompts to create text, images, videos, or other data using generative models) has taken the world by storm. In 2023, it was estimated that 1 in 4 workers in Canada were already using OpenAI’s generative AI tool, ChatGPT, which was only launched in 2022. While some governments have opted to ban or limit the use of generative AI platforms like ChatGPT, cities across the globe have been exploring innovative applications from chatbots to self-driving vehicles.
Looking ahead to 2040, what might generative AI mean for cities? How might municipal services, programs, and resident needs evolve? This Open Scan session explored these questions with municipal innovators from across Canada.
Futures of Trust in Governments
Sept 25, 2024
A recent report released by Policy Horizons estimates that within the next three years, people will no longer be able to tell what is true and what is not. While this is concerning for many reasons, the prominence of deep fakes and AI-generated interference in the political domain has already impacted democratic processes globally.
Meanwhile, numerous studies have found that trust in governments is on the steady decline in Canada, as residents face increasingly challenging circumstances related to the climate, housing, and economic crises.
Considering these complex dynamics, Open Scan explored a range of possible futures of trust in government, including possible futures where trust increases and the steps needed to get there.
Futures of Water
April 24, 2024
What might water scarcity and contamination mean for city planning, services, or public health in 2040? On April 24, 2024, Open Scan explored changes impacting the futures of water, and what that could mean for cities.
In Canada, freshwater is one of our greatest assets, with 20% of the world’s freshwater reserves located here. While taken for granted by many of us, access to safe drinking water remains a challenge for some (notably 618 First Nations communities) and may become a growing concern in future due to rising levels of contamination from microplastics, road salt, forest fire ash, and more. Meanwhile, global water scarcity is projected to be a major issue due to climate crisis-related droughts, impacting food production, sanitation, and potentially future geopolitical conflicts.
Futures of Health & Wellbeing
January 24, 2024
Over the last few years, the healthcare sector has been working on overdrive to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Even under such high demand, there are many innovations happening in healthcare such as nature prescriptions, innovations in vaccine research, digital transformation, and much more. How might staffing shortages, predictive AI, and a focus on health services at home change health and healthcare in the future?
On January 24th, Open Scan explored changes impacting the future of health and wellbeing, and what that might mean for cities in 2040 through a scenario development exercise.
Region of Waterloo Case Study
December 14, 2023
In the face of incredible change and uncertainty, how do municipalities plan for their future? How can residents, especially youth, be incorporated in this process? On December 14th, Open Scan explored how the Region of Waterloo incorporated strategic foresight to ensure their 2023 - 2027 Corporate Strategic Plan is future-focused.
This session was co-delivered by Creative Futures and the Region of Waterloo Strategic Planning team.
Futures of Rural Communities
April 28, 2023
On New Year’s Eve 2019, the last ferry left Little Bay Islands, Newfoundland, and the utilities were cut off. This happened as a result of the province’s resettlement program. The reality is, service delivery in small communities is a challenge, and with the majority of Canada’s population living in large urban areas, the rural-urban divide has intensified.
However, how might the growth of remote work, soaring housing prices, and climate change impacts alter the trajectory of rural communities? On April 28th we explored how rural communities are changing, and what that might mean for the cities in 2040.
Future of Arts, Optimists Edition
March 30, 2023
What if in 2040, the arts were truly valued as an essential public good, critical to the vibrancy, prosperity and resilience of cities? What would this mean for municipal service delivery, governance, and finances?
On March 30th Open Scan explored a possible future of cities where the arts are valued as a public good. This ambitiously optimistic session shared current-day examples that indicate the possibility of this future, and provided an opportunity for participants to reimagine municipal affairs through an artistic lens.
Future of Higher-Ed Learning
February 28, 2023
Colleges and Universities are vital parts of many cities across Canada. As post-secondary institutions undergo significant change and disruption, are cities prepared for the futures that may unfold?
In 2040, will post-secondary learning be largely online? If students can learn from anywhere, will they choose more affordable communities? How will summer programs that currently rely on students continue if there is no student population to draw from?
Join us on February 28th to explore three changes impacting the future of learning, and what that might mean for cities in 2040.
Future of Families
January 31, 2023
Families across Canada have weathered significant disruptions and changes in the last three years. As municipal innovators, it’s time to revisit our understanding of who a family is, where they live, and what municipal services they’ll need.
In 2040, how might family dynamics and structures change due to flexible remote work, affordable daycare, and broader shifting values? Will Canadian rural communities see a boom in family life or will the majority of families choose large cities to call home?
Join us on January 31st to explore changes impacting the future of families, and what that might mean for cities in 2040.
Read the Future of Families summary.
Open Scan: Ontario Bill 23 Special Edition
December 20, 2022
What might Ontario municipalities look like in 2040 as a result of Bill 23?
The stated goal of Bill 23 is to build 1.5 million new homes by 2031 by reducing or eliminating development fees and overriding current municipal zoning laws. However, in doing so what are the first, second, and third-order implications of this Bill? How will municipalities change by 2040 as a result, for the better and for the worse?