Foresight in Germany - A history of long-term views and the exploration of futures

Foresight or futures studies or futures research gained ground at the beginning of the 1970s when the "Limits to Growth" was published, with models of the future, first scenarios, planning and political futures. However, the field lost its impetus and was restarted at the beginning of the 1990s with the notion of science and technology Foresight. After World War II, Foresight in Germany had followed different paths. Whereas in Eastern Germany, a prognostic and planning approach was adopted quickly, the Western part of the country was first hesitative towards anticipatory governance or planning. It took until 1992, when following the Japanese Delphi surveys, refinements and combinations of methods brought Germany back to the state of the art in Foresight - especially an the national level. The repertoire of methods broadened to semi-automated Horizon Scanning, virtual creative and scenario workshops, and more participation. After the reunification, Foresight gained ground in Germany, like in the EU, started to be organised into networks and is now on its way towards becoming a scientific discipline. This contribution is a "historical paper" based partly on literature analysis and partly on personal experience and observations.