Learning the future faster: The role of Vickers appreciative system

In July 2002 the first Strathclyde International Conference on 'Probing the Future: Developing Organisational Foresight in the Knowledge Economy' [1] was organised by Hari Tsoukas and Jill Sheppard, and in August 2004 the second Strathclyde International Conference on 'Organisational Foresight' [2] was organised by George Wright and myself. It was my pleasure to host third Strathclyde International Conference on 'Learning the Future Faster' in August 2007, and it is now my honour to edit and co-ordinate a selection of papers from the conference. The Strathclyde International Conference has developed its reputation since 2002 as a key outlet for researchers interested in organisational foresight. I am delighted to report that the third conference had an increase in both notes of interest following the call for papers, as well as full papers that were presented at the conference. Those attending and presenting at the conference represented the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia, covering a wide range of interest groups including academia and practice from the private-sector and public-sector.