WhatIf Lab key approaches
Participatory Futures
Participatory futures is a term used to describe an approach to foresight that emphasizes the involvement of diverse stakeholders in the process of imagining and creating possible futures. The aim of participatory futures is to enable a more democratic and inclusive approach to decision-making, one that recognizes the diversity of perspectives, values, and interests that shape our collective future.
At the WhatIF Lab, we ground our approach in the arts, using storytelling, design and gamification as tools for engaging people's imagination and emotions and for generating new and alternative ways of thinking about the future. These futures can be brought to life through multimedia installations, interactive performances, or immersive environments, which invite participants to engage with the future in a more experiential and emotional way.
We are available to consult on or co-design ‘participatory futures’ projects including creative workshops, collaborative storytelling, and game play.
Story Thinking
Story Thinking is a unique methodology developed by Dr. Helen Marshall, Prof. Kim Wilkins and Dr. Lisa Bennett which adaptes skills from science fiction and fantasy creative writing to dislodge researchers from tightly held disciplinary perspectives so they can collaborate on the complex problems of the twenty-first century. It encompasses four domains:
Inhabit: Storyworlds and the Rules of the Game
Science fiction and fantasy writers have perfected ‘world-building’, a practice that brings speculative elements and real-world research together. Creating and inhabiting a storyworld is a valuable tool to situate a problem in its context and explore the possibilities for changes in a 360-degree imaginative space.
Envision: Epic Wins and Nasty Surprises
Stories move through chains of cause and effect, which are usually called plots. We use cause and effect to extrapolate from different divergence points and speculate on multiple outcomes. Working in the space of possibility, we generate new ideas and scenarios and prepare for the unexpected.
Empathise: Imagining Extraordinary Inner Lives
Being able to imagine the experience of others is key to telling stories and co-designing solutions. We have many tools for perspective taking, developing empathy and imagining ‘unusual suspects’: people with wildly different backgrounds, histories, and experiences who are often overlooked.
Engage: The Magic Words that Bind People and Build Knowledge
Stories engage audiences and create affinity spaces of pleasure. We use language, metaphor, and humour to transcend disciplines and create cohorts with a shared sense of the problem and a shared commitment to solving it.
We are available to consult on or co-design ‘Story Thinking’ projects including creative workshops, collaborative storytelling, scenario generation and game play.
Creative Practice
The WhatIF Lab places creative practice at the heart of its methodologies and approaches, including writing, visual arts, design, and performance, as well as emerging fields such as interactive media, and virtual and augmented reality.
Creative practices can help artists, participants and researchers to break free from established assumptions and perspectives and to use metaphor in the creation of new kinds of knowledge about the future. Creative works can also contribute to and emerge from futures thinking. For example, artists can use futures thinking to anticipate how technology or social changes may impact the worlds, situations or characters depicted in their work, and to explore how they can create new forms of expression that respond and shed light upon these changes.
We are available to contribute to, consult on or co-design ‘Creative Practice’ projects including anthologies and other publications, creative futurism, creative workshops for researchers, art installations, and community outreach.