Everything you need to know about horizon scanning

The information in this article is a preview of the guidance included in the Charity Digital Strategy Accelerator for Scotland (CDSA for Scotland). The CDSA for Scotland is a free and interactive course that guides you through the journey of creating a digital strategy that is impactful, realistic, and forward-thinking. 

To begin the Accelerator in the learning platform, click on the link below and enter the code: CDSA for Scotland 

Start the CDSA for Scotland 

Horizon scanning is the secret to being resilient, forward-thinking, and hopping on the right digital trends for your charity, at the precise moment you need to. To achieve all of this, you need to be willing to expand your perspective and visualise alternative futures, looking beyond what you already want to see and asking the unasked questions to identify what is currently unknown. 

In this article, we explore how to master the mysterious art of horizon scanning to (basically) see into the future.  

Define your scope 

Decide how much of the horizon is worth taking into account. That means defining which areas you are going to look at, in terms of: 

Use these areas to define a clear question to guide your research, such as “What digital innovations might reshape our sector in the next five to ten years?” 

Scan, analyse, and prioritise 

Time to start scanning! Form a small, diverse scanning team (up to ten people) to collect signals from the horizon. Create a weekly scan summarising new developments with context. You can use our template in the Charity Digital Strategy Accelerator to capture your findings.  

The scanning team can then meet to discuss their findings and begin to analyse and prioritise. Discuss: 

Bring it all together and take action 

At this stage, it can help to summarise your findings, analysis, and conclusions. In a short one-page report, outline the key emerging drivers and trends that need attention, as well as recommendations for further action and investigation.  

Use your findings to make informed decisions for your strategy. In the strategy, you can outline how can you plan to make the most of upcoming digital opportunities, while avoiding potential risks. 

If you’re unsure how to react to a trend, research how other organisations are handling it and talk to your network. Depending on the nature of the trend, there may be a lot of information out there or there may not be much. Sometimes you have to make your best educated guess as to what to do – but when doing so, minimise the risk of any decisions by thinking about their appropriate scale and impact. 

Keep a look out 

While all of the information you have found is helpful, you can’t actually see into the future. Technology is constantly changing, and we can’t always predict what will happen next. That’s why horizon scanning is a continuous process. 

Schedule reviews once a quarter or bi-annually to check up on how digital trends are shifting. This will help you proactively respond to changes and be effective in the digital world to make a bigger impact.