Challenge
Create “a learning environment which helps policy specialists and Foreign Service Officers explore major political, technological, cultural and environmental trends and provides foreign affairs professionals with a framework for thinking about the future of diplomacy over the next 10-15 years.”
Resources Mobilized
Global Academic (GA), a wholly-owned small business subsidiary of ACGE, brought together a team of leading foreign policy experts from the Council on Foreign Relations, Brookings Institution, and American University, including subject matter specialists with expertise in data analysis, foresighting, Megatrend analysis, as well technology trends and tools. The team also included developers and designers with specialization in creating immersive, problem-based learning activities.
Solution
The GA team produced the “Tomorrow Now” course, which was aimed at expanding Foreign Services Officers’ capacity for leadership through an introduction and daily application of new knowledge, skills, and strategies to better evaluate the potential impact of massive global change on America’s diplomacy and foreign policy. GA designed a week-long pilot (8 hours/day) as an experiential learning class to help mid-careerists examine “Megatrends.” Daily activities included analysis of technology trends/tools, scenario modeling, case study analysis, and focus on specific global issues. Participants were required to apply foresight tools to analyze these global trends and draft relevant policy recommendations and implementation strategies.
Date
February 22, 2016
