Future-oriented innovations are products as well as techniques, companies and businesses that can improve the lives of people. They can boost sectors like healthcare and space technology, or increase the competitiveness of a business. To create them, it takes many hours of work from various high tech technique stakeholders. It also requires a paradigm shift and an epistemic awareness. It is essential that the management and staff of a company are open to learning from long-term trends and paying attention to them.
Fear of the unknown, resistance towards change and a focus on only short-term gains are the main obstacles that block future-oriented innovations. In organizational settings these can be overcome by encouraging the development mindset, fostering an environment of innovation, and creating a sense the future that employees can pursue. This is known as the phronesis. It is the idea that people need motivation to take risks in their work. It can result in more retention rates among employees in companies that employ a future-focused approach.
It is becoming increasingly clear that innovation ecosystems could benefit from an understanding of future possibilities. This could be accomplished by including foresight in innovation ecosystems, expanding structural ties between research programs and strategy-building processes, and enhancing general awareness of the future by incorporating different viewpoints in dialogue. The foresight-wheel model is a methodological construction that can be used to address these needs in an effective and scalable way. This article outlines a novel approach to developing future-oriented innovation.