On March 10, 2023, members of the Strategic Advisory Committee of the Global Cooperation Futures Initiative met for their inaugural meeting. Through the Futures Initiative, Cooperation Canada aims to reimagine global development cooperation futures and inform the positioning of international cooperation actors in a post-2030 era. Using strategic foresight, the project takes a systematic approach to looking beyond the present, exploring the future, and engaging directly with the unknown.
Members of the Advisory Committee were selected from around the world for their experience in strategic foresight and international cooperation and represent various sectors, including academia, civil society organizations (CSOs), and multilateral organizations.
The inaugural meeting was opened by Kate Higgins, Cooperation Canada’s Chief Executive Officer, who in her opening remarks, reiterated the organization commitment to fostering a more collaborative, connected, and inclusive enabling environment for the Canadian international cooperation sector and beyond. She stressed the importance of partnerships in understanding and adapting to the increasingly volatile and complex space in which civil society organizations operate. Ms. Higgins also expressed hope that the Futures Initiative would help strengthen the capacity of Canadian CSOs to tackle emerging challenges, adapt to rapidly changing dynamics in the international ecosystem and think systematically about the future.
Cooperation Canada’s Research and Program Officer then presented the primary objectives of the project, key areas of focus, milestones, and expected outputs. The committee discussed the various levels of participation and engagement of different stakeholder groups. The Committee will reconvene at the project inception workshop in April.