School of International Futures

What School of International Futures does

School of International Futures (SOIF) is a non-profit company limited by guarantee, founded in 2012 and headquartered in Sidcup, Kent, UK. Under company number 07761662, it operates with a team of approximately 35-40 staff and delivers strategic foresight, futures thinking, consultation, and training services to governments, multilateral organizations, and civil society clients across more than 50 countries. Its service offering centres on scenario planning, long-term governance, and capacity-building programmes, with flagship initiatives including the NSxNG programme (partnered with the National Lottery and the Gates Foundation), the LG2040 programme with the Local Government Association, futures training for UN Global Pulse personnel, and the "A Perfect Storm" foresight report co-produced with Arup for the National Infrastructure Commission for Wales. SOIF also convenes the NGFP network and the Long-term Governance Programme, providing a recurring community of practice for public-sector foresight practitioners.

SOIF's business model is grant-funded and programme-based rather than transactional. Revenue is sourced from philanthropic grants (National Lottery, Gates Foundation), institutional contracts with multilateral bodies (UN Global Pulse), and paid engagements with public infrastructure and planning authorities (Welsh Infrastructure Commission, UK local government via the LGA). It does not sell a software product or licence a proprietary platform; its deliverables are reports, workshops, training curricula, and convening services. The organisation has expanded geographically through regional hubs in Finland, Portugal, and Ireland, broadening its European delivery footprint beyond the UK headquarters. Analyst note: as a non-profit it does not have a commercial valuation, and revenue is not separately disclosed; the analytical focus is on grant pipeline durability, anchor funder relationships, and the breadth of public-sector distribution.

Name

School of International Futures

Legal name

School of International Futures Ltd

Website

https://soif.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

School of International Futures is a UK non-profit founded in 2012 that provides strategic foresight, scenario planning, and training services to governments, multilateral organisations, and civil society across 50+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Strategic Foresight and Policy Advisory Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)

Keywords

• Strategic foresight consulting
• Futures thinking services
• Long-term governance advisory
• Intergenerational fairness programmes
• Policy capacity building

Headquarters

HQ city

Sidcup

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Strategic Foresight Services: SOIF delivers foresight services including strategic retreats, training, facilitation, workshops, and advisory work to governments, multilateral organisations, and institutions. Revenue is generated through consultancy fees, programme delivery, and training engagements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

School of International Futures (SOIF) is a not-for-profit foresight consultancy that delivers futures insights, capability building, and change programmes to governments, multilateral organizations, and civil society. Core offerings include strategic foresight retreats, bespoke workshops, citizens assemblies, training programmes, and advisory engagements grounded in structured futures methodologies and a proprietary Transformative Foresight Triangle framework.

Product overview

School of International Futures (SOIF) is a consultancy organization focused on futures thinking and strategic foresight services. The organization offers foresight services, facilitation, and training programs including a Strategic Foresight Retreat. SOIF also runs various innovation programs and networks such as the Long-term Governance Programme, Intergenerational Fairness initiatives, and the Next Generation Foresight Practitioners (NGFP) awards. Rather than a software product company, SOIF provides advisory, research, and capacity-building services to governments, multilateral organizations, and civil society. The National Strategy for the Next Generations (NSxNG) is a multi-year program focused on building citizen participation in long-term national planning.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Next Generation Foresight Practitioners (NGFP): A global network of foresight practitioners
• National Strategy for the Next Generations (NSxNG)
• Foresight Retreat

Products and services

• Strategic Foresight Retreat
• Foresight Services (Strategic Insights, Capability Building and Change Programmes)
• National Strategy for the Next Generations (NSxNG) Programme
• Next Generation Foresight Practitioners (NGFP)

Quantifiable outcome

• Trained over 300 people across the UN System in foresight
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• ArupkeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on climate adaptation research including the 'A Perfect Storm' report for the National Infrastructure Commission for Wales, bringing together research expertise for resilient infrastructure planning.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Futures School: Foresight education and capability-building organisation delivering training, courses, and futures literacy programmes. Comparable to SOIF's retreat and capability-building offerings for institutional and individual learners.
• Forum for the Future: UK-registered charity working with governments, NGOs and businesses on sustainability, systems change and long-term futures. Highly comparable to SOIF in non-profit status, UK base, systems-thinking methodology, and public/NGO client mix.
• Fast Future: Specialist foresight and scenario-planning consultancy publishing research, books, and advisory work for governments, multilaterals and global corporates. Comparable to SOIF in offering strategic foresight services and engaging with international institutions on long-term issues.
• Volans: Sustainability and futures consultancy that advises businesses and governments on long-term transformation and systems change. Comparable to SOIF in mission orientation, methodology and cross-sector institutional client base.
• Institute for the Future: Independent nonprofit futures research organisation based in California that produces long-term foresight research, workshops, and training for governments, businesses and civil society. Directly comparable to SOIF in mission (structured futures thinking), client base (public and multilateral institutions), and delivery model (research + capability building).
• WhatIf! Innovation: Innovation and futures-driven consultancy that uses scenario thinking and future-back design with corporate and public sector clients. Comparable to SOIF in methodology (scenario/foresight-based) and target buyers (large institutions and governments).
• Shaping Tomorrow: UK-based strategic foresight consultancy offering futures research, scenario planning, workshops and AI-enabled horizon scanning to governments and corporates. Directly comparable service mix and customer base to SOIF, with similar foresight methodology.

Broad incumbents

• Deloitte Insights (Foresight practice): Strategic foresight and scenario-planning capability within Deloitte's consulting portfolio, serving public-sector and large corporate clients. Comparable to SOIF in offering foresight services to governments, but operating as part of a global professional services firm.
• RAND Corporation: Large global policy research institution with dedicated foresight and long-term strategy work for governments and multilaterals. Overlaps with SOIF on long-term governance and policy futures research, though operating at much larger scale across defence, health and social policy.
• Arup Foresight: Foresight and innovation practice inside Arup, the global engineering and design firm. Directly comparable delivery capability to SOIF (and an actual SOIF partner), but operating as part of a much larger multidisciplinary firm rather than as a standalone non-profit.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/soif
• Xx.com/soifutures
• Facebookfacebook.com/SOIFutures

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about School of International Futures