Our mission was to decipher and reconstruct the notion of “political will” in the near future. The reality we observed is one plagued with contemporary paradoxes: job instability, technological developments such as artificial intelligence and automation, political polarisation and a growing demand for environmental justice. Faced with this situation, we performed a multifaceted analysis aimed at understanding how these factors are changing society’s behaviour, needs and values and predicting their future impact on our political will.

The challenge involved extracting knowledge from a host of emerging signs of change over a one year period, with a view to comprehending the underlying forces that are shaping civil society’s political determination and, in doing so, identifying opportunities for systemic change.

Approach

Our methodology was based on a participatoryfutures observatory, with support from the European Climate Foundation. During the year, we organised a series of meetings and workshops to challenge assumptions and encourage ongoing critical thought. These sessions, held regularly, were implemented jointly with other key players in climate action in Spain.