Coproducing futures: A three‐mode heuristic for reflexive practice toward sustainability

Abstract Coproduction is commonly used as an action‐oriented practice to collaboratively produce knowledge for different purposes, including supporting institutional change to navigate uncertainty and complexity while enabling pathways to sustainable futures. Futures thinking and related tools are also used to conceive new possibilities or alternative futures and increase collective understanding of change processes. Yet, despite common themes of change, uncertainty, and transformation being strongly related to how we envision and imagine the future, there has been relatively little cross‐fertilization between coproduction and futures thinking, specifically, to understand how the explicit use of the latter can facilitate sustainability transformations. A fundamental question remains about how to facilitate reflexivity and critical thinking across multiple actors, knowledge systems, and values, to shape coherent imaginaries of just and sustainable futures. This article explores the potential of a heuristic relating three modes of futures thinking (predictive, anticipatory, and speculative) and their interconnections to strengthen reflexive and future‐oriented practices in coproduction. We document insights from coproduction researchers and practitioners applying these three modes of futures thinking in their work and how these support reflexive practices. We discuss gaps and opportunities for more future‐oriented coproduction that increase collective awareness and responsible stewardship of nature. Our heuristic can enable critical thinking from researchers and practitioners involved in the pursuit of sustainability transformations to better integrate science, policy, and community engagement to identify innovative ways to address power imbalances and a more proactive engagement with the future.