6.O. Scientific session: The future of foresight: how to apply innovative methods to strategic foresight

Abstract Public health is at a critical crossroads as it faces increasingly complex challenges like global pandemics, climate-driven health emergencies, and widening inequities exacerbated by shifting social, political, and technological landscapes. Traditional public health planning and foresight methods often struggle to account for the nonlinear, interconnected, and rapidly evolving nature of these disruptions. To design proactive and equitable health systems, the field must embrace innovative foresight methods that integrate advanced technologies, participatory approaches, and dynamic systems thinking. This session highlights methodologies that could be used in strategic foresight for public health, showcasing how they can transform our ability to anticipate, respond to, and shape future health outcomes. The session delves into three game-changing approaches to public health foresight: artificial intelligence (AI) for optimizing and scaling foresight practices, citizen science for democratizing data collection and interpretation, and group model building for co-creating systems-based insights with diverse stakeholders. AI-powered tools, such as machine learning models for horizon scanning and predictive analytics, are redefining early warning systems for infectious disease outbreaks and environmental health risks. Citizen science empowers communities to contribute real-time data on emerging health trends while reinforcing public trust and ensuring representation in foresight processes. Complementing these data-driven innovations, participatory group model building fosters collective intelligence by engaging interdisciplinary stakeholders in co-creating dynamic models that reveal the ripple effects of health interventions in complex systems. Attendees will explore real-world case studies illustrating how these methods-when combined with speculative design and experiential prototyping-catalyze anticipatory thinking and actionable strategies in areas such as pandemic preparedness, climate-resilient healthcare, and equitable health access. By integrating these cutting-edge approaches into public health planning, organizations can move from reactive decision-making to proactive systems design, creating more inclusive, resilient health futures. Join us to learn how harnessing AI, citizen science. Key messages • Complex future challenges require further innovation of foresight methods. • New methods such as AI should be further exploited to be used in foresight.