Interactive futures Workshop

Day 2: Friday, 13 September

To deliver a participatory futures workshop on what the future of social science research will be in ten years' time. The workshop will begin with an introduction and series of short provocations from well-known social scientists and authors about the future of social science research in the UK. Each will provide their perspective on the current state of social science research, interdisciplinarity, the role of data and AI in research, and the institutions that shape social science research. This will be followed by a breakout session of small groups when participants will share their perspectives with one another and identify up to three important issues for the future. These will feedback to an interactive panel discussion with the original presenters who will respond to these perspectives and issues, and from this a final set of topics will be identified for the rest of the workshop. Finally, participants will engage in a scenario-planning exercise using the three horizons framework, envisioning potential futures for social science research on each topic. Groups will be encouraged to create a visual representation of their scenarios using provided materials. Each group will then be invited to share their scenarios for adapting to future challenges with the rest of the group. The session will end with a plenary discussion of key takeaways, providing time for informal discussions and networking amongst participants. We expect participants will leave with a deeper understanding of the potential directions social science research could take and strategies to navigate the challenging academic landscape.