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TOOL
Forecasting change
Short description

The Futures Wheel is a visual foresight and brainstorming tool invented by American futurist Jerome C. Glenn in 1971, designed to graphically map the primary, secondary, and tertiary consequences of a specific event, trend, or change using a circular diagram with concentric rings radiating from a central hub.

The method works by placing a central change or issue at the core of the diagram — for example, a new policy, a social trend, or a strategic decision — and then working outward in layers. The first ring captures direct, first-order consequences; from each of those, a second ring of second-order consequences is generated, and so on — surfacing implications beyond the immediate and obvious, and helping develop an understanding of causality through ripple effects.

Unlock-hypothesis

Lack of vision by local and national politicians

Lock-in Layers

institutional

Lock-in Cluster

Governance incumbency

Challenges

Lack of a vision for change

Level of effort for application

medium

Skill level needed for application

medium

Suitable spatial context

flexible

Spatial limitation

no

Visualisation

Author/Licence: knowledgeworks.org

Tool type

Vision

Toolbox user types

NGOs/ local interest groups, Local government, Local administration

Languages

english