Signal
A concept in strategic foresight and anticipatory governance
A small, concrete sign that something may be changing. A signal can be a study, a new law, a product launch or a decision by one institution. Most signals fade. A few are early evidence of a larger shift.
Background
Foresight practitioners often speak of weak signals, an idea associated with the strategist Igor Ansoff in the 1970s. A weak signal is early and incomplete information about a change that may later become obvious. Its value lies in being noticed before the change is clear.
A question it raises
What have we noticed this quarter that we would not have predicted a year ago?
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