Social Futuring Center

Multi-disciplinarian research unit

Corvinus Institute for Advanced Studies

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About

Social Futuring Center (SFC) is a multi-disciplinarian research unit of the Corvinus University's Institute for Advanced Studies. Social futuring is a term and method formulated by the Center.

The debut video of the Center is available by clicking on this link and you may also find its highlights and main activities on this PPT slideshow.

Our aims are to develop the conceptual and normative framework of social futuring studies, to construct the Social Futuring Index (SFI) and to manage the ConNext 2050 research project in partnership with
Barabási Lab (Boston, MA, USA),
Geopolitical Futures (Austin, TX, USA),
Institute of European Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (Beijing, China),
Hungarian Central Statistical Office (Budapest, Hungary).

Social futuring is the feature of a social entity signifying its capacity, ability and fitness to envision and enact changes and so to prepare itself for the beneficial managing of the future. Social futuring is a measure of the creative awareness and intent a social entity (e.g. a family, a community, a city, a country, a region, etc.) needs to rationalize its present and future potential, set common goals, resiliently adapt to and cope with changes, and perform its vision while sustaining its orientation towards the future.

Social futuring is used to indicate a social entity’s ability, readiness and activity to embrace the future. The conceptual framework of social futuring converges results of research into future-orientation, future proofing, attachment, resilience, coping and sustainability. Social futuring exclusively belongs and is applied to what is social, that is, to human agents and their relations with their material, social, cultural and symbolic environments. Rooted in a multidisciplinary academic framework, social futuring creates an innovative synergy of approaches combining philosophy, sociology, psychology, bionics, informatics, economics, political science, environmental studies, futures studies, network science, among other academic and professional fields.

Research Fellows and Staff

The SFC was established in February 2017 at Corvinus University of Budapest. It has a staff of senior and junior research fellows.

  • Prof. Dr. Zoltán Oszkár Szántó

    Head of the Research Center, Senior Research Fellow

  • Prof. Dr. Petra K. Aczél

    Senior Research Fellow

  • Péter Szabadhegy

    International Affairs, Project ConNext 2050

  • Dr. Eszter Deli

    Research Fellow

  • Prof. Dr. Tamás Bartus

    Senior Research Fellow

  • Dr. Róbert Iván Gál

    Senior Research Fellow

  • Dr. Tamás Kocsis

    Senior Research Fellow

  • Judit Sebestény

    Project Coordinator

Associated Research Fellows

  • János Csák

    Honorary Professor, Head of Project ConNext 2050

  • Dr. George Friedman

    Invited Distinguished Research Fellow, 2018 Fall

  • John D. Mueller

    Adjunct Senior Research Fellow

  • Chris Ball

    Invited Distinguished Research Fellow, 2019 Summer

  • Dr. László G. Lovászy

    Associated Senior Research Fellow

  • Prof. Dr. Gyula Bakacsi

    Associated Senior Research Fellow

  • Dr. Balázs Szepesi

    Associated Senior Research Fellow

  • Prof. Dr. Dóra Perczel-Forintos

    Associated Senior Research Fellow

  • Dr. Zoltán Ábrahám

    Associated Senior Research Fellow

  • Bálint Ablonczy

    Associated Research Fellow

  • Dr. Márta Radó

    Associated Junior Research Fellow

Connext 2050

Social futuring used in the project CONNEXT 2050. The main scope of its research is the analysis and interpretation of social futuring of different social entities, focusing on short and long-term future changes (2017-2050).

MEDIA COVERAGE

  • -A review of our book titled Társadalmi Jövőképesség – Egy új tudoményterület
  •   bemutatkozása has been published in Magyar Tudomány (in Hungarian)

  • -A new book chapter (chapter 16: 371-398) of our researchers - Róbert Gál and
  •   Márta Radó - has been published by the World Bank Group

  • -New working paper of our researchers - Róbert Gál and Márta Radó - has
  •   been published on the website of the World Bank and World Bank Group

  • - About our video on special issue of the SFC on EPPC website commentary
  •    by John D. Mueller (in English, 24/04/2019)

  • - Report on the workshop on Social Futuring at the Chinese Academy of
  •     Social Sciences, Beijing (in English, 15/10/2018)

  •   Media coverage of our conference
  •   'Társadalmi Jövőképesség - Egy új tudományterület
  •    bemutatkozása' (in Hungarian):
    •      - summary on Index, (13/06/2018),
    •      - precis on MTI (13/06/2018) took over by Generali Alapkezelő
    •        (13/06/2018) and NRGreport (14/06/2018),
    •      - interview with Zsolt Hernádi (13/06/2018) and László György
    •        (13/06/2018) on Portfolio,
    •      - interview with János Csák on InfoRádió Aréna
    •        (13/06/2018 Part1, Part2, audio).

  • - About our conference 'Social Futuring - Connecting Global
  •    Potentials' by CASS (in English, 18/04/2018) and by Corvinus Kioszk
  •    (in Hungarian, 15/03/2018)

Social
Futuring
Index

By measuring social futuring, the complex of future-oriented workings of an entity is evaluated and weighted. The Social Futuring Index (SFI) and ranking is a weighted average of indicators that approximates the elements of social futuring. The measurement pillars are the substantive types of future changes into which a social entity can proceed.

The PPT slideshow about the highlights and main activities relaed to the SFI is available on this link.

These changes/pillars are:

  • ecological-geopolitical,
  • technological,
  • socio-economic, and
  • cultural-spiritual.

The SFI is a composite indicator based on publicly available data.

Publications,
cvs, events

Next Events

Past Events

Hungarian
Publications

Conceptual papers on social futuring to be published shortly:

Next Events

Past Events

Gallery

Contact

  • Social Futuring Center

    Corvinus University of Budapest
    8 Fővam sq., Budapest, H-1093 E 73.

  • Szidónia K. Nagy

    Project Coordinator
    +36 1 482 5598

    szidonia.nagy@socialfuturing.com