Method guide · Arrange people and ideas
Desired-Future Image Workshop
Build a desired future from observable evidence while retaining both common ground and differences.
- People
- 4–40
- Base procedure time
- 90 minutes
- Recording
- Shared record
Purpose: Generate ideas; Build working relationships.
English guide
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How this method works
A method for turning a desired future into observable evidence and building a shared scene. Use it when only words about ideals accumulate, the beneficiaries of success are unclear, or differences are erased in a rush towards one slogan. Through three windows—people concerned, setting, and systems—participants draw future actions that can be seen, words that can be heard, and records that remain, one item per card. Put overlapping evidence in a common area and retain conflicts in a differences area, handling agreement and unresolved matters together. The result is a shared future image, common evidence, differences, and initial indicators to observe with owners. Do not use it to assert a future as a prediction or establish legitimacy without involving people affected.
Phase schedule
Minutes are cumulative from the start of the base plan, not a live timer. Read scaling for any additional time. Phase controls do not advance automatically.
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- Define the perspective0–10 minutes from the start (10 minutes)
Action: Define. Participation: Everyone.
Recording not separately specified for this phase
- Draw the evidence10–30 minutes from the start (20 minutes)
Action: Draw. Participation: Individually.
Individual record
- Build the scene30–55 minutes from the start (25 minutes)
Action: Build. Participation: Groups of 3–6.
Shared record
- Check the core55–75 minutes from the start (20 minutes)
Action: Check. Participation: Groups of 3–6.
Shared record
- Choose observations75–90 minutes from the start (15 minutes)
Action: Choose. Participation: Everyone.
Shared record
Facilitation steps
- For 10 minutes, write one sentence each for the subject, period, and affected people of the future image, and place these above the three windows.
- For 15 minutes, each person draws up to 5 evidence cards for future actions seen, words heard, and records remaining.
- For 5 minutes, turn over cards containing only value words with no observation method and rewrite them to show who does what that could be seen.
- For 25 minutes, in groups of 3–6, place evidence in the people, setting, and systems areas and move overlapping cards to the common area.
- For 20 minutes, move incompatible cards in the same area to differences and write which differences remain and what conditions will be decided later.
- For 15 minutes, select 3 items from all groups' common areas and write observation methods trackable from the present, owners, and check deadlines.
If something changes
If
Ten minutes into writing evidence, cards verifiable through seeing, hearing, or records average fewer than 2 per person.
Then
Divide a person's day into entry, use, and afterwards, and add one visible-action card at each point.
If
Fifteen minutes after building the scene begins, 70% or more of all cards overlap in the common area.
Then
Distinguish two types of affected people and check by repositioning whether the same evidence holds for both.
Preparation
Materials
- One future-window sheet per group with three areas: people concerned, setting, and systems
- Five evidence cards per person, with a seen/heard field
- Three difference cards per group
- Three observation slips per group, with an owner field
- One dark-coloured writing implement per person
Room and setup
- One island table per group of 3–6
- One future-window surface per group with three windows side by side
- One whole-group lookout surface for collecting observation slips
Adjust for people and time
Do not use the method with fewer than 4 people, as it is difficult to compare common ground and differences. Divide participant count by 6 and round up for the number of groups, then form groups of 3–6 differing by no more than 1 person. Each group transfers 1 common point and 1 difference to the whole-group surface. With 40 people, display observation slips from seven groups, and do not merge evidence about different people by majority vote.
Safety and non-applicable situations
Retain differences and do not merge evidence for different affected people through majority voting. The desired image is not a prediction, and legitimacy must not be established without involving affected people.
Manuscript's recorded references
These translate the original manuscript's source and rights claims. They remain separate from any current-page notice below; they do not establish new verification.
- Government Office for Science: Visioning
Adaptation under OGL 3.0; changes made
- OGL 3.0
https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
- The original method name ‘Visioning’ is used descriptively to identify the source.
Current-page licence notice
A Taiwa no Fumen adaptation based on the UK government publication identified below. Any separately stated terms apply to the material they identify.
Changes: timings, instructions, materials and branches have been edited for this site. The English edition translates the Japanese manuscript, not the government text verbatim.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
This notice does not grant blanket rights to third-party works, personal data, organisational logos or trademarks.
This is not an official or government-endorsed method.
See the licence for its no-warranty and other terms.
© Crown copyright 2024
Credits on the checked source page
- Published by: Government Office for Science
- Produced in collaboration with: SAMI Consulting
Source page checked on 2026-10-17: The Futures Toolkit HTML.
Source lineage
Open Government Licence v3.0 · Legal code · Official source policy
This material-specific notice does not itself establish publication clearance. Preserved manuscript references above remain separate from the current page's credits and licence evidence.
Diagram, print, and video language
Original Japanese guide, diagram, and print view. Their labels and print text have not been translated; an English print edition is not provided here.
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Editorial provenance
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