Scientific trend analysis

Method description

In view of the accelerated pace of economic, social, ecological and technological change, a culture of future-orientated thinking is required in all areas of society. Scientific trend studies provide a database for the evaluation of relevant environmental changes in organisations, industries and state or administrative institutions. They fundamentally fulfil the requirements of scientific future-oriented thinking, they consider dynamics and interactions as well as alternative developments, and they ultimately allow strategies and specific measures to be derived efficiently. A distinction is made between different types of trends in terms of their impact and their spatial and temporal characteristics (e.g. megatrends, basal trends, economic trends). In its research and consulting activities, the IZT can build on a broad and long-standing pool of scientific trend analyses. The trends used in the projects - including recognisable uncertainties in the trends - are each presented in a structured and comparable manner.