Working with the Future: Global Approaches and Relevance for Kazakhstan

Global management practice is gradually moving away from a model in which decisions are made only after a crisis has already become apparent. Governments, international organizations, and large companies are shifting toward early identification of change, stress-testing decisions, and preparing response options before a critical phase begins.

This shift takes different forms in international practice. The United Nations includes strategic foresight in the UN 2.0 management renewal agenda. The European Union links it to resilience and strategic autonomy. The OECD develops the approach of anticipatory governance. The corporate sector formalizes continuous work with the external environment through strategic intelligence standards.

For Kazakhstan, this agenda has direct relevance. Commodity cycles, export routes, sanctions constraints, technological shifts, energy issues and investment expectations are shaped largely outside the country, but they quickly affect the domestic economy, business and public expectations.

This material opens TALAP’s series of publications on the development of strategic foresight. It explains why the global practice of early analysis of change is becoming important for Kazakhstan and which approaches can be adapted to the national context.