Paper short abstract:

As intellectual traffic between futures studies and science and technology studies deepens, identifying contributions that STS can make to FS has come into focus, and this presentation -- without irony -- imagines the potential public use of 'Opportunity Radars'.

Paper long abstract:

As intellectual traffic between futures studies and science and technology studies deepens, identifying contributions that STS can make to FS has come into focus, and this presentation -- without irony -- imagines the potential public use of 'Opportunity Radars'. The authors make these claims, please note, as a collaborative research team composed of an academic trained in STS and an active facilitator of planning workshops for private sector organizations. The 'Opportunity Radar', as a tool, organizes aggregate imaginaries -- in many cases, real and potential market opportunities -- on a platform that resembles a (visual) radar screen. The potential of future public applications of this tool primarily hinges on the tool allowing for multiple inputs (i.e., from the public) in asynchronous collaboration. While most visions or imaginaries of the future are thought to be short-lived and inconsistent across actors, prolonged use of Opportunity Radars may help to overcome the perceived ephemeral quality of multiple local ontologies. The presentation concludes by staking-out how STS research can contribute to our understanding and application of tools like the Opportunity Radar.