Future-readiness means being able to anticipate change, envision possibilities, and take actions to shape a better future. As the world’s leading futures organization, IFTF helps prepare organizations, communities, and individuals to become future-ready for a more sustainable and equitable world.

IFTF was founded in 1968 as an independent, public-interest nonprofit and a spinoff from RAND Corporation with original support from the Ford Foundation. Our founding articles of incorporation state that “it is imperative that society acquire the necessary tools, methods and research capabilities to identify and cope with socio-economic questions before they become tomorrow’s critical problems.” This was a revolutionary call-to-action at a tumultuous time in history—a call for a more rigorous systems approach to the future that would help people find agency in their own expertise to be better prepared in uncertain times.

Over half a century later, we are still driven by this same singular ambition: to look as far ahead as possible and imagine the world “if.”

Asking “what if?” allows us to transcend the limits of short-term thinking, to change course before it’s too late, and to see future possibilities framed in intensely human terms.

IFTF is the world's oldest continuously running futures research and educational organization. We believe people can harness the power of “if”—the power of imagination to awaken a sense of agency in their future and drive change in themselves and their organizations—and our tools and programs are designed for exactly that.