Future-oriented innovations include innovative products, companies and technologies that can improve people’s lives. They can help improve areas like healthcare and space technology, or enhance a company’s ability to compete. Producing them requires an enormous amount of effort from various high tech technique stakeholders as well as a paradigm shift and significant epistemic visibility. It is also essential for a company’s command lines and staff to be open to learning from long-term trends and listen to them.
Fear of the unknown, reluctance towards change and a tendency to focus only on the short-term gain are the main obstacles that prevent future-oriented innovations. In an organisational setting, these challenges can be overcome by fostering an attitude of growth and an environment that encourages innovative thinking. Employees will also be motivated to work toward an end-point in the future. This is referred to as phronesis. It is the notion that people need an incentive to take risks in their work. It can lead to higher retention rates for employees of companies who have a future-oriented approach.
There is increasing evidence that innovation ecosystems can benefit from a stronger grasp of the possibilities for the future. This could be accomplished by infusing foresight into innovation ecosystems and strengthening the structural connections between research programs and strategy building processes, and increasing general awareness of possibilities by incorporating diverse perspectives into dialogue. The model of the foresight wheel provides an idea of a methodological structure that can address these needs in a way that is both effective and scalable. This article presents a new method for developing future-oriented innovations.