Topics

Foresight is a basis for giving a long-term direction and creating future-proof strategies, products, and services. Studies have shown that companies and organisations investing in strategic foresight find the decision-making environment less complex and are able to review their own organisations as part of broader development. The integration of scenario development activities with service design thinking is also an avenue for the creation of not only future-proof strategies but also services that actively shape a desirable future.

Many societal challenges, such as climate change and urbanization, are multifaceted and require innovative solutions and services that go beyond traditional approaches. Co-creation approaches are becoming increasingly prevalent: ecosystems and networks reshape the landscape of service design, delivery, and value creation. Research may focus on understanding the dynamics of collaboration among diverse stakeholders, including industries, decision-makers, researchers, and citizens, and how co-creation processes can lead to the development of innovative service offerings and examine the structure, dynamics, and governance mechanisms of service ecosystems. Of interest here is also an enhanced understanding of how service co-creation can bridge the gap between top-down policy and bottom-up citizen engagement, fostering a sense of shared ownership for sustainable solutions.

Cities have been considered potential ‘drivers’ and loci for sustainability, innovation, and societal progress. They have a dual role in solving and contributing to sustainability: cities generate both problems and solutions to sustainability challenges. Cities may play a proactive role in promoting sustainable policies and developing sustainable solutions. Studies may investigate how smart infrastructures, urban planning, smart mobility, and energy solutions can create resilient, interconnected service ecosystems within cities and regions, enhancing quality of life, sustainability, and economic vitality.

Empowering individuals and communities to actively participate in problem-solving and decision-making processes may lead to more inclusive and democratic societies. By leveraging technology and collaborative platforms, service providers can engage stakeholders in co-designing and co-implementing solutions that address local needs and priorities. Additionally, there is a growing interest in social innovation and inclusive design approaches that address the needs of marginalized and underserved communities. Studies may investigate how service innovations can promote social inclusion, equity, and accessibility, as well as empower diverse stakeholders to participate in co-creation processes.

Service innovations have been argued to be critical for organizations’ competitiveness but does not come without challenges. To be successful in the area involves continuous experimentation, adaptation, and learning to anticipate and respond to changing customer needs, market trends, and technological development. If successful, service innovations can be supportive of a sustainable society in more ways that by contributing to competitiveness and thereby economic sustainability. In terms of social sustainability an example is service innovations in healthcare supporting equal and accessible care, often enabled by digital solutions. Finally, regarding environmental sustainability service innovations enabling circular economy and supporting sharing economy are a few among many examples of support. We thus invite papers focusing on the development, delivery, or impact of service innovations on any dimension of sustainability, pointing to the potential role of service innovations in creating a future-proof society.

Embracing technological advancement is crucial for future-proof societies to drive innovation, enhance productivity, and improve quality of life. Societal and economic development is increasingly depend on technological knowledge and the ability to develop and efficiently use novel technologies. From the viewpoint of future-proof societies, the advancement of digital technologies, artificial intelligence and data analytics will also be central in the future. Making sense of data requires new, improved methods for communication between humans and machines, as well as the development of data management and data governance methods. It also requires adequate engagement with the ethical implications of data-driven services in order to explore how service design can promote responsible data collection, use, and ownership.

Future-proof societies and related innovations do not emerge without policy measures and governance structures that support their creation. In order to ensure the impact and value of the solutions and guarantee robust and real-time information in decision-making, we need to understand the role of policy frameworks, regulatory mechanisms, and governance structures in fostering sustainable solutions. Essence is in understanding how the s value is co-created and what the long-term and systemic impacts of solutions are. To capture the comprehensive value of the solution and to offer versatile perspectives to decision-making, novel tools for evaluating, validating, and arguing the impact from the perspective of different stakeholders are required.