Recent shocks and disruptions – from pandemics to technological breakthroughs – have made clear that simply waiting until a crisis hits is no longer an option. Preparedness requires anticipating change and shaping it before it unfolds. In response, the European Commission published its ‘Preparedness Union Strategy’ earlier in 2025, calling for a ‘preparedness-by-design’ culture across all policies, held up by the core pillars of foresight and anticipation.
However, translating this ambition into practice requires concrete tools to explore how the future of work might evolve. This CEPS Explainer presents five such approaches: forecasting, task-based analysis, strategic foresight, discourse and narrative analysis and backcasting. Each engages with the future in a distinct way – predictive, explorative or normative – and offers researchers, policymakers and organisations practical tools to anticipate change, assess risks and inform strategy.
