The Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies (

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

: ''Instituttet for Fremtidsforskning'') is a Danish not-for-profit, independent futures think tank founded in 1969 by Thorkil Kristensen, former

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Secretary-General for the betterment of our society. The Institute's mission is to facilitate knowledge about potential futures and it hosts various events during the year and collaborate on others, in Denmark and abroad. Lastly the Institute produce several publications, such as reports, magazines and books. The Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies is organised as an association consisting of a wide range of member organisations and individuals. CIFS is not associated with any specific university or governmental body. The Institute's products include seminars, analyses, reports, courses, newsletters, books, and the magazine Scenario. The work at the Institute rests on the assumptions outlined by military strategist

Herman Kahn Herman Kahn (February 15, 1922 – July 7, 1983) was a founder of the Hudson Institute and one of the preeminent futurists of the latter part of the twentieth century. He originally came to prominence as a military strategist and systems theo ...

in his book: The Year 2000: A Framework for Speculation on the Next Thirty-three Years, and later adapted for strategic business planning by

Pierre Wack Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

from

Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yo ...

History

The Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies was founded in 1969 by Professor Thorkil Kristensen, a member of the Club of Rome who had previously been the Danish Minister of Finance and later the

Secretary-General. The organisation was established in collaboration with a number of Danish organisations who had a desire to qualify their decision-making basis through futures studies. Thorkil Kristensen was the CEO of the Institute from 1969 to 1988, after which Rolf Jensen took over until 2000. During this period, the Institute published the book The Dream Society, which became an international bestseller and was translated to several languages. From 2000 to 2013, the international outlook was expanded under the leadership of first Johan Peter Paludan and later Axel Olesen, and an especially Nordic focus characterised the circle of members and projects. In 2004 CIFS published the follow-up to The Dream Society, the book Creative Man. In 2010 CIFS launched the print magazine SCENARIO, which has since been sold from newsstands around the world. In 2019, the Institute became the facilitator of the Nordic Health 2030 Movement, a multi-stakeholder initiative intended to create collaboration around the future of health.

List of CEOs

* Thorkil Kristensen (1969-1972, 1973-1988) * Niels Ivar Bech (1972-1973) * Rolf Jensen (1988-2000) * Johan Peter Paludan (2001-2004) * Axel Olesen (2004-2013) * Claus Kjeldsen (2013-2018) * Daria Krivonos (2018-

Work

The Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies research covers a wide variety of topics from identification and statistically based analysis of global trends to subjective and emotional responses to the future. The work of the Institute is interdisciplinary, and its staff covers a number of academic disciplines and professional backgrounds, including astrophysics,

biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...

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history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

, cultural studies, business studies, and

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

SCENARIO Magazine

The institute publishes a quarterly magazine called ''SCENARIO Magazine''. Some of the Institute's books include: * Jensen, Rolf. The Dream Society: How the Coming Shift from Information to Imagination will Transform your Business *Mogensen, Klaus Æ. Creative Man: The Future Consumer, Employee, and Citizen The Institute is the Danish Partner of the EUROCONSTRUCT network, which provides analysis and forecasts of construction in 19 Western and Central Eastern European countries.EUROCONSTRUCT Members
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History

List of CEOs

Work

SCENARIO Magazine

References

Further reading