The Millennium Project Priorities (ranked by MPPC members) For MPPC meeting discussion July 2009.

The Millennium Project Priorities

(ranked by MPPC members)

For MPPC meeting discussion

July 2009

1. Promote 2009 State of the Future

Why we should be doing it:• It is the MP 'flagship'. It exists. It can be shown/given/referenced to all.• It is important for Nodes to get their countries to promote 2009 State of

the Future. Italian Node is already doing it and will do more• It is an excellent and useful report, but not sufficiently known/used • The State of the Future is a very useful book and welcome by most of

consultants, government functionaires, etc.

Strategy for implementation:• To have global sponsors for promoting it worldwide• Have one or two major events a year by MP Node.

Why we should be doing it:

• Very useful compilation for consultants and teachers.

• Promoting MP methodologies as tools to empower people for planning,

• There is a risk of these tools be wrongly applied – MP should be a reference in each of the nodes to offer consultancy and partnership in planning processes by applying the whole set of methods

• We have it already and it is unique- the market should be large

• It is the other MP flagship. It has a wealth of useful, interesting, value-adding, borderless, non-discriminatory information and insights that, more or less, could be applied to almost any issue.

• We risk becoming an organization that spends more time promoting what it has done than doing what is next. The products stand on their own and should be promoted by third parties as exemplars of the field

2. Promote FRM 3.0

Strategy for implementation:• Internet – write press release and email to MP, WFSF, WFS, PFA

listservs, post them to Blogs and get online reviews (Frank?), use Google key words.

• Do something with Shaping Tomorrow.• Ads in The Futurist, American Management Association, Hazel (free

ad). • Reviews in The Futurist, Technological Forecasting & Social Change,

Long-Range Planning, World Future Review, Futures, Foresight, library review journals, AMA, Strategic Edge (Stan Rosen); www.EthicalMarkets.com (Hazel)

• Produce flyer for WFS mailing list (or better to do full page ads?)• Launches – Harvard Business School alumni (5/14) in Washington,

DC., Beijing, Academy of Science (5/20), UK launch in London (6/22 by UK Node and PM’s Horizon Scanning Office, JG via Skype), Chicago WFS (7/17-20), maybe Seoul, Korea: 8/20-22

2. Promote FRM 3.0

Strategy for implementation (continued):

• Nodes could make CD copies locally and sell, via launches, advertise, write reviews, etc.

• Get it in University Courses – promotion strategies by Peter B., and Node chairs at universities

• Key universities in developing countries, President and/or Prime Minister’s Offices, Ministries of Planning in Developing countries, UNDP, UNICEF, WFP, WHO, etc.

• Office of the SG and ASG’s in NY, Government (Ambassadors) Permanent Reps to UN in NY

• Distribution channels: Amazon.com, MP Website, MP Nodes, World Future Society conference (but they don’t sell directly now)

• Distribution through Rf Foundation – Participants at Pro-poor Bellagio conference (maybe 3 copies for each participant from developing countries), Relevant Rockefeller Foundation grantees,

2. Promote FRM 3.0

3. Pursue collaboration with other Orgs for larger use and/or improvement of SOFI and

the Global Challenges

Why we should be doing it:• It is a win win for the MP and other orgs such as Economic Intelligence

Unit and the World Bank• The MP is already a large collaboration (of Nodes and their connections)• Excellent in theory; potentially extremely demanding in practice. What is

the MP budget for such work?

Strategy for implementation:• Pick one target, explore it. If it sounds good, try. • Do not shotgun exploration. After setting up one partnership, carefully

analyze the cost-benefits of going after/getting another.

4. Pursue UN EcoSoc and UN Dept of Public Information for UN NGO status for The Millennium

Project.Why we should be doing it:

• stronger credibility, UN links important to maintain

• The UN needs it. Futures studies and planning has never been so fundamental in these transition times. To be under UN institutional umbrella will give MP the status it deserves and enhance its network and power of influence.

• Keeps flexible relationship with the United Nations

• Not aware of the specific benefit of keeping on pursuing UN affiliation, esp. if it will be as unstable as our experience has been. Some links to established structures and networks - yes. But it should be a nice-to-do-if-we-can rather than primary objective.

• Depend on cost-benefit of all of the effort to achieve/maintain such status – any UN requirements on the MP to get/maintain the status and what are the implications for the reputation of the MP?

Why we should be doing it (continued):• Mexican Node is an associated member of the UN DPI/NGO for 3 yrs

and have had a very good experience. Their Annual Conferences are very interesting and most members are willing to support each other. This year the Annual Conference will be held in Mexico and as part of the Organization Mexican Focal Group, we have had a great chance to meet very interesting people and open new doors for the MP

Strategy for implementation:• Pera Wells of WFUNA offered to set up a meeting in New York with

UN EcoSoc for this. So do the NY meeting and fill out all the forms• No one knows how to do this better than Jerry• I do not think that we have to keep the UN brand or link anymore. We

have to position ourselves as an independent think-tank.• Negotiate with the UN, do not capitulate to the UN's size and

reputation. The MP has several strengths the UN does not have

4. Pursue UN EcoSoc and UN Dept of Public Information for UN NGO status for The Millennium

Project.

5. Create a plan to strengthen the Nodes, their connectivity, and funds for translation, editing, and

publishing MP work..


• Very useful if Nodes can have a Global corporate sponsor that supports local initiatives

• Such a plan would need a MP budget.

Strategy for implementation:

6. Create on-line MP course – FRM and SOF as primary texts taught online by various participants

of MPWhy we should be doing it:

• Very useful for universities teaching and consultants learning.

• It is crucial and Nodes could be directly involved

• Many institutions already create/offer such courses. MP has more to give than an educational product

• What would be much better and more useful would be a on-line MP course TEMPLATE. Different education systems - to reflect their own political, economic and language/culture situations - could use the template to produce what they need. If, after a template is produced and successfully used, it might be useful to then produce an on-line MP GRADUATE-level course.


• We have a tentative agreement to do this for Azerbaijan Node, and could replicate elsewhere.

• UNESCO could be the right institution to fund this project

• Replicate this course under regional bases in different languages

• We need to think about: is it a graded course?; who/what is the 'instructor'?; who manages comments and evaluations?; who mediates disputes? - .....

6. Create on-line MP course – FRM and SOF as primary texts taught online by various participants

of MP

7. PR kit for Nodes to be used for fund-raising and promotion of their own work


• It should be a FR kit not a PR kit. The approach is entirely different.

• This would come after a PR and communications strategic plan but is of great priority and to align MP in the same positioning and institutional branding in all countries

• This has been on the MP to do list for several years, but with out a focused funded effort, I don't see hit happening.


• MP can propose to Nodes a simultaneous approach worldwide with Global firms.

• Maybe a topic to discuss in the small group sessions during the MPPC meeting in Chicago.

8. Nodes update their own pages and upload papers, etc.


• Nodes should commit at least 3 times per year so people around the world can appreciate the value of the MP worldwide.

• Not enough time to be a 'webmaster'

• This would make MP more global and would enhance its information basis

• Such a status give the Millennium Project stronger credibility.


9. Deepen the relationship among the nodes


• It can strengthen each Node's effort

• The connection among nodes already exists through the PC meetings and online groups, but could be better


• Initiate special projects that benefit our people, as the Global Millennium Prize does

10. Pursue funding to help nations upgrade their futures capacity

(National foresight units, National SOF and SOFI) Why we should be doing it:• One of the best ways MP could play its part in addressing Challenge 5• It is important to foster country-specific foresight studies; it is important to

develop futures capacities in various countries. They need it. • It could backfire – we still have a negative view about US interference in

the world and MP is now US NGO. It has to become more global for this to happen

• So many questions: Funding from who/what; upgrade countries needing/ wanting upgrades?; funders outside the MP net?, funding for which nations; how we select countries (by funding? per potential impacts/ benefits and to whom (benefits to countries?, to MP?)

• Making countries upgrades 'an element' of the MP program and pursuing other countries makes sense if a process is in place that prevents unhappiness (why them before us?) and precludes swamping the MP (if say, 15 countries state they want upgrades)

• We have the right infrastructure to pursue this opportunity.

10. Pursue funding to help nations upgrade their futures capacity

(National foresight units, National SOF and SOFI) Strategy for implementation:• Agreements signed with Kuwait and Azerbaijan, but now have not yet

begun work with them. • For this to become ‘element,’ we need to have a framework to do the

job in a more streamlined way. Need a strategy for – how many countries at time, which countries follow Kuwait and Azerbaijan, etc. who decides these?

• Talk with the Rockefeller Foundation to develop an approach with lesser developed countries. Write a concept paper to use in follow up conversations with governments that have expressed some interest in this: Dominican Republic, Mexico, France, Argentina, and South Korea.

• Working this project together with universities will make it easier.• Establish high-level contacts with the Ministry of Education of the

respective countries OR target a selected number of universities in these countries and introduce SOFI to develop national SOFI

• Find a global sponsor to fund this – otherwise it will be difficult under current economic climate

11. Create and implement a public relations strategy with a professional PR organization


• Now that the MP is an NGO. It should be a FUNDRAISING Company. Not a PR. US has the most important donors in the world.

• MP is still poorly acknowledged by the public and should invest definitely in PR and communications strategies through a professional group like Edelman Group, etc. They would like to take MP as a client to enhance their image and as a challenge and the costs would not be so high, taking into account the relevance of MP as a client that will enhance their global image

• In theory, OK. In practice there are many 'costs' in addition to money

Strategy for implementation:• We have begun discussions with a PR firm (the principal was the

head of global marketing for HP about 8-10 years ago) that knows we cannot afford them. They are contacting foundations to see who might give us a grant to improve our outreach.

• Help the PR firm write their proposal to get us the funds to hire them.

• The FUNDRAISING Company should get a commission against results.

• This PR and Communications agency should be global because MP could make a win-win agreement. They developed our plan and MP give them global reputation

• Before the MP looks for PR 'firms', the MP needs to be very clear about what it wants, and what it does not want 'public-relationed'.

11. Create and implement a public relations strategy with a professional PR organization

12. Pursue creating climate change situation room for the UN Sec-General’s office, and/or South Korea, and/or Virgin Unite adapting GENIS design to CC collective intelligence


• To face climate change future with awareness about risks and opportunities.

• Comprehensive prototypes can be mocked up in MP Second Life to test the effectiveness of various approaches. MP Second life can be a permanent interface to the actual bricks and mortar implementation giving everyone equal access to the Climate Change data.

• CC is top priority in most of the developed and developing Governments agenda. To have a study/application of GENIS make MP a reference in the world

• These are three very different projects needing different approach. We need to pick one. My choice would be : Virgin, SK and UN SG, partly doing it with the UN would be very time-consuming

• I don't see MP winning a contract to do it, but to help design it and make a manual a little like we did for the Early Warning System for the Kuwait Oil Company.

Strategy for implementation:• There is interest in Korea to do this; hence, we can help Youngsook

in that direction. On the UN Secretary-General's office, it's some more meetings, a short scenario of usage, maybe a concept paper. The Branson idea might turnout to me more of a lobbying system than a real situation room with collective intelligence. So, follow up with Youngsook in Korea, and the UNSG's office in NY.

12. Pursue creating climate change situation room for the UN Sec-General’s office, and/or South Korea, and/or Virgin Unite adapting GENIS design to CC collective intelligence

13. Write proposal to fund the prototype of GENIS (about $500,000)


• We should do it soon before others do. MIT said they would participate in MP's prototype development, but I think they are developing one now, which seems to be fancy blogs attached to computer simulations, not the collective intelligence in GENIS.


• I see this as part of the CC room and should be pursued in tandem.

• Write a proposal to Google or other that would understand the subtleties of the synergies among the elements of GENIS

14. Publication of Global Challenges as a short lower cost book; put SOF/CD and FRM/CD into

one higher cost CD; downloadable articles/chapters for a fee


• Allows MP to serve different needs and demand for different groups in different parts of the world.

• Offers more flexibility for self-promotion; potential financial benefits.

• The 15 Global Challenges are very attractive per se.

• To have a +6,000 pages CD in the MP report is really too much for only US$50. Sponsors don´t like too much information for the public if they put money in the MP. CD should be considered a special product saleable for a much higher cost.


• Determine the cost-benefit before moving ahead

• Invite 15 main different Global firms specialized per challenge to sponsor

15. Initiate programs for regional future research

Why we should be doing it:• Far too broad. Far to many evolving regions. Many countries which still

insist on the existence of 'absolute' sovereignty will not be 'regionalized'• Now this is an area where the MP has the network to really do

something interesting which is regionally built, but globally linked through an interaction with other Nodes / regions.

• This could greatly improve the quality of SOF regional commentary + leverage a key strength of the network (spread).

• OECD has recently launched very interesting reports about new innovation and competitively approaches, integrating regions in each country that show their potentiality when national States join efforts, resources, etc...

Strategy for implementation:• Link this with Univ. of Denver / IFs - SOFI linkage project for auto-

generation of regional SOFIs which can then form one of the bases for regional foresight

• The global sponsor should be OECD, now that the regional studies have been paid by local States.

16. Write proposal to further develop the Elements of the next economic system

Why we should be doing it:• I'm thinking on a wider Elements system, that includes political and

socio-economical issues. There are many individuals and organizations all over the world looking at the future of 'economic' 'systems'. And a singular focus on 'economics' would ensure that whatever was produced would be almost useless

• There is now a global agreement about the failure of the old economic system and this is the unique opportunity for the MP to raise this issue and develop studies about a new economic model

Strategy for implementation:• Hazel Henderson can be our guide and mentor for this new project• OECD could be a good sponsor for this study• The MP would have to assemble and sustain significant expertise

over time to first write the Proposal and then to develop, intellectually test and then set up the elements.

17. Update the Futures Matrix


• Has not be updated for several years. It is a good way to organize futures research, and a contribution to the field.

• So far as I know, there is not available anywhere a logically organized "bird's eye view" of the whole array of global problems, to serve as background for discussions of projects and priorities.

• This is very important to enlarge the interest of professionals


• The SA Node has a grant to create an online futures resource. Maybe this could be one of their tasks or we could write a simple proposal for a person to keep it updated (or interns?). Although there is a geographical specificity to their project (Africa), a methodology and platform for maintenance could be established and then scope broadened.

• A development effort to combine the Futures Matrix and the "Map of Futures Studies Areas" (a draft graphic prepared for the Project a few years ago) to create an interactive graphic framework that would provide a graspable overview of the universe of global problems/challenges and their relationships, and serve as a portal to information about them.

• This represents applying the GENIS GEIS interface concept not just to energy/CC but (on a small scale) to the whole world of global problems.

• Perhaps this should be linked to other initiatives - e.g. regional MP focus?

17. Update the Futures Matrix (cont.)

18. Policy implementation Delphi – what actions from MP research and SOF should be pursued by the

Bled Forum

Why we should be doing it:• Some countries have been working with different alternative indicators

that surpass traditional ones. Brazil has Sarkozy Committee that has just released the first report on New Indicators for Wealth and HGI (Happiness Gross Indicator). SOF index could be another one

• I think that is worth spreading it out and promote it as an additional and future-oriented tool for policy planning.

• I like the idea of an MP initiative to drive the uptake of policy responses / structures / etc. and to drive a peer-sharing process around this. However I don't quite understand the current formulation that appears to be about only a European drive? In general, I agree that this is a useful and appropriate role for MP.

• Too regional for MP priority• Would be very useful for countries close to Slovenia to involve more

countries in the area such as Croatia


• We can separate research from implementation. SOFI is one answer to Global Challenge 5 and there are other ideas that should be done - like creating Committee for the Futures in all government legislatures. But MP cannot do them all. BUT MP could work with those who are. We spoke before about Barbara Haering the Swiss politician (no retired)who wanted to work with Parliamentarians in other countries to use the work of MP to implement ideas. Blaz of the Blec Forum on Europe offered to collaborate with Barbara on this. But but first, what ideas should be implemented, what priorities?

• Encourage Blaz and Barbara to do a RTD on priorities and strategies.

• Strategy: Build upon last year's survey of national futures bodies.

• Next September will be the proper time in Mexico for promoting the Committee for the Futures at the Congress.

18. Policy implementation Delphi – what actions from MP research and SOF should be pursued

by the Bled Forum

19. Pursue funding for a global study of human security futures.

Why we should be doing it:• Security futures is a very important issue, maybe the study should go

further than human. The 62nd annual Conference of UN DPI/ NGO title is FOR PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT. DISARM NOW!

• It is already happening. The economic crisis is providing impetus. Until the MP has a face in the 'security' realm, it will miss out on many opportunities.

Strategy for implementation:• NGOs involved in disarmament, democracy and peace can fund this.• Every single GC is related to an element of HS, and, HS is the only

issue of direct concern to every human being on earth. Unfortunately, most people on seeing/hearing HS immediately 'understand' it in terms only/mostly of traditional military/territorial security.

• It has been shown in graduate studies and course that when HS theories and practices are used on selected human situations, it is very useful.

20. Conduct a study about the next 200 Years for Latin America

Why we should be doing it:• Surely the region should be Asia.• 200 years is to much for thinking just in Latin America. At that time the

Spacial Era will be very important.• Latin America and other emerging countries are on the world´s focus

right now and MP should help the new global arena with this study.

Strategy for implementation:• LA will celebrate their about "bi-centenary“, hence it’s the opportunity to

get the public attention to the future with another 200 years horizon• The same process of the Delphi in the Elements of the next economic

system could be developed with the participation of all Latin American nodes and other academics or research institution of the region.

The Millennium Project Priorities (ranked by MPPC members) For MPPC meeting discussion July 2009.

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