In order to humanize forecasting, communities have been proposed to activate and enlarge a collective ability of foresight. To better understand how communities relate to collective foresight abilities, this article untangles its critical modes, roles and social media involved. Based on a fine-grained analysis of 10 community practices, we uncovered the abilities of capturing, conceiving and designing foresights enacted in the distinct modes of creative, user and strategic communities. Discoveries included the novel abilities of conceiving foresights, a new groundbreaker role for strategic designers and specific activities of social media listening with regard to future interests. Grounded on the prime findings, we propose a framework with propositions that shape further theory development on community abilities of designing foresights. Further research directions are outlined.

This paper presents an introductory review of methods to articulate strategy in design. Articulation is here seen as a process in which strategy is more or less strictly and explicitly identified and described, e.g. in relation to key ideas, directions to follow, goals and expected results. The paper surveys existing literature in design research and identifies two broad categories of methods for the articulation of strategy: (1) structured frameworks, and (2) vocabularies and principles.