Stakeholder Future Conference

Purpose

Stakeholder Future Conference brings a diverse "whole system" into one room to find common ground and commit to action on a shared future. It moves through reviewing the past, exploring the present, envisioning the ideal future, identifying common ground, and making action plans. Unlike methods that focus on differences, the Stakeholder Future Conference explicitly seeks agreement. Use it when a community, organisation, or multi-stakeholder group needs to align on a shared vision despite diverse interests.

At a glance

• Group size: 30–100 people
• Duration: 120 minutes (condensed; traditional format is 2–3 days)
• Difficulty: Advanced
• Facilitation style: Structured
• Setting: Indoor

How to run

1. Review the past (20 min): Create a shared timeline of key events across personal, organisational, and global scales. Table groups discuss what shaped the present.
2. Explore the present (20 min): Map current trends and forces affecting the system. Each table focuses on a different stakeholder perspective and presents their "radial idea map."
3. Create ideal future scenarios (30 min): Mixed stakeholder groups envision the ideal future (5–10 years out) and present it creatively (skit, newscast, poster).
4. Identify common ground (25 min): Review all future scenarios. Identify themes that appear across all groups. These are the common ground.
5. Action planning (25 min): Self-selected action groups form around common-ground themes and create specific plans with milestones.

Materials needed

• Long timeline paper on walls
• Flip charts per table
• Markers in multiple colours
• Props for creative presentations
• Action planning templates
• Timer

Pitfalls & common mistakes

• Including only like-minded people — the power of a stakeholder future conference comes from the diversity of the "whole system" in the room.
• Trying to resolve disagreements — the method explicitly parks disagreements and builds on common ground only.
• Not having decision-makers present — action plans die without authority in the room.

Inclusion & accessibility

• Mixed stakeholder tables ensure no group is marginalised.
• Creative presentations (skits, drawings) include people who express themselves better non-verbally.
• Build in breaks — this is a demanding format.
• For remote: very challenging but possible with excellent facilitation and multiple breakout rooms.

Variations

• Full stakeholder future conference (2–3 days): The original format with deeper exploration, including sleeping on it between days.
• Stakeholder future conference + Open Space: After identifying common ground, use Open Space for action planning.
• Community future conference: Focus on a geographic community rather than an organisation.

When NOT to use this

Avoid a stakeholder future conference when the convening organisation is not willing to act on the common ground found, or when key stakeholder groups refuse to participate — the "whole system" must genuinely be in the room.

Source & further reading

Developed by Marvin Weisbord and Sandra Janoff. See *Future Search: Getting the Whole System in the Room for Vision, Commitment, and Action* (2010) and futuresearch.net.