Two days of discussions and workshops to explore the futures of territories and strengthen partners’ capacity to guide public policies.

The third interregional seminar of the Strategic Foresight Partnership (SFP) project took place on 23 and 24 September 2026 in Rzeszów, Poland, hosted by the Podkarpackie Region. The meeting offered partners the opportunity to explore and test strategic anticipation methods, with the aim of identifying approaches that can be transferred to their respective regional contexts.

At the heart of the activities were three participatory workshops dedicated to concrete challenges for the future of territories.

In the first workshop, led by the University of Rzeszów, participants tested Design Thinking, exploring creative approaches to developing responses to regional challenges. The second workshop addressed the future of lifelong learning in Europe towards 2040 through the Three Horizons method, connecting the current situation, ongoing transformations and desirable futures. The third workshop, led by an expert from the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, provided an opportunity to test the 2×2 scenario matrix to explore the future of urban centres.

Three different methods, all characterised by the active involvement of participants and the opportunity to integrate different perspectives and experiences. The testing process enabled partners to understand their potential and discuss the selection of the foresight tools best suited to different objectives and application contexts.

For Informest, the seminar was also an opportunity to highlight the contribution of Friuli Venezia Giulia to the interregional exchange through the participation of IRES FVG and ENFAP FVG, organisations that are part of the SFP project’s regional stakeholder group. In particular, Chiara Cristini, a foresight expert from IRES FVG, facilitated the workshop dedicated to the Three Horizons method.

The exchange between territories, experts and institutions, enriched by the contribution of the European Commission and the European Committee of the Regions, thus continues to support SFP’s journey towards greater integration of strategic anticipation into public policies.