What is Environmental Scanning?

Environmental Scanning means observation and critical examination of changes in environment and understanding phenomena via point of view of incidents, decision-making, options and different kinds of future consequences. Tracking dynamics constitutes one of most important processes in futures studies. Often this phase of research process is combined to system thinking but it is especially important in scenario working, which is utilized in business world for example when identifying the futures of organisations.

Environmental Scanning is also a method that enables decision makers both to understand the external environment and the interconnections of its various sectors and to translate this understanding into the institution's planning and decision-making and strategic processes.

Via Environmental Scanning it can be

• detected scientific, technical, economic, social, and political trends and events important to the institution,
• defined the potential threats, opportunities, or changes for the institution implied by those trends and events,
• promoted a future orientation in the thinking of management and staff, and
• alerted management and staff to trends that are converging, diverging, speeding up, slowing down, or interacting (Coates 1985)

Some links on Environmental Scanning:

• Millennium Project: Emerging Environmental Security Issues
• Swinburne University of Technology: Strategic Scanning
• On the Horizon: Environmental Scanning (James L. Morrison)
• Cornell: Environmental Scanning Principles and Processes (Michael Duttweiler)
• Environmental scanning as information seeking and organizational learning (Chun Wei Choo)
• Infinitefutures: Environmental Scanning: A Holistic Approach to Identifying and Assessing Weak Signals of Change (Wendy Schultz)
• American Society of Association Executives: The Importance of Environmental Scanning