Foresight: climate, geopolitics, democracy
The lab · The Impossible Futures Lab
The Impossible Futures Lab gives young people a space to imagine the world of 2050 and debate it (climate, geopolitics, democracy, crises, everyday life), with scenarios grounded in solid sources.
Discover the labAssignments
- Keep the lab’s horizon-scanning base of signals, sorted with the STEEP grid: social, technological, economic, environmental, political
- Lead the structural analysis of drivers of change with the MICMAC method
- Run Delphi surveys of specialists and young people with Google Forms, prepared with the Research Ethics Adviser and with a parent’s agreement for every minor surveyed
- Build quantified frames from recognised open scenarios: the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways, NGFS scenarios, the IPCC scenario database, United Nations population projections
- Lead backcasting exercises: start from a desired future and work back to today’s decisions
- State at the top of every study what kind of exercise it is: statistical forecast, conditional projection or exploratory scenario
- Work with the Foresight and Scenarios Officer, who runs the workshops and writes the narratives, while you bring the methods and quantified frames
- Write the lab’s foresight and scenarios guide with the data, impact and visualisation team
Tools to master
- Google Sheets: the signals base and analysis matrices
- Google Forms: Delphi surveys
- SSP, NGFS and IPCC scenario databases: quantified frames
- Google Colab: scenario processing
What you will deliver
- A shared, up-to-date base of signals
- Quantified frames for each of the lab’s scenarios
- The foresight and scenarios guide
Profile we are looking for
- A background in foresight, economics, political science or environmental science, or equivalent experience
- Comfort with data and its uncertainties
- Imagination held steady by method
A volunteer role, open to young people
Every role we offer is fully voluntary. The experience we ask for can come from a course, a student project, an internship, volunteering or a personal project: every skill counts, wherever you gained it. Our roles are designed first and foremost for young people, and we weigh your motivation and potential as carefully as your track record. Want to be part of something big? Apply.
Nice to have
- Practice of a foresight method: Delphi, MICMAC, scenario building
- Knowledge of climate or demographic scenarios
- Good English and French
What this role gives you
- A full command of foresight methods, valued by institutions and research centres
- Scenario studies credited to you
- Conversations with young people from many countries about the futures they imagine together
Applications open until ; a new cycle follows
Applications open in forty-five-day cycles, each followed by the next. YouthShare reserves the right to close this listing as soon as the right person is found. We therefore encourage you to apply now.
The one-year commitment
A non-profit project is built over time. Every volunteer therefore commits for at least one year: time to settle in, carry the assignment through and pass on what they have learned. The weekly time depends on the role and is given in each role description.
How selection works
Online application
You choose a role, present your background and attach your CV. A confirmation email gives you your reference.
Profile review
The Talent team reads every application, matches it with the needs of the role and sends you a first reply by email within three days on average.
Video interview
A conversation to get to know each other and shape the assignment together.
Decision and arrival
You receive our answer by email, followed by a welcome to the team and access to its tools.
Know the right person?
Recommend this role to them: they receive an email from YouthShare that presents it, with your name and the link to apply. You can also share the listing on your networks.