NIC Scenarios: Global Trends 2030

The US National Intelligence Council has released its latest Global Trends Report, a major scenario planning based report that it has published a new version of every few years since 1997. Drawing on the knowledge of the US intelligence community as well as experts and think tanks from around the world, the Global Trends reports imagine various long-term strategic challenges for the US. The latest one is called “Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds” (previous reports can also be found through that link), and this time NIC is also sponsoring an online discussion hub in support of it.  An explanation of why the NIC uses scenarios can be found here. As the NIC stresses, these reports are not meant to be predictive but, rather, are meant to expand the national discussion about strategic priorities in long-term future-facing ways, as well as promote collective learning about different possible futures by all involved.  We at the Scenario Lab would emphasize seeing this as major exercise for the US intelligence community in public policy communication and rhetoric as well as a means for strategic thinking.