What swissfuture does

swissfuture (legal name: swissfuture – Schweizerische Vereinigung für Zukunftsforschung) is a Swiss non-profit association (Verein) founded in 1970 by Gerhard Kocher and Bruno Fritsch, headquartered in Emmenbrücke with a five-person operational team. The organization is the recognized national association for futures research and strategic foresight in Switzerland and a member of the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences (SAGW) since 1976. It serves a community of futures researchers, foresight practitioners, organizational strategy staff, and educators by providing a network, methodology, publications, and educational pathways. Governance is by a board led by co-presidents Andreas M. Krafft and Georges T. Roos, with Brigitta Fischer as Head of Office since September 2023.

The organization's core products and services are organized around knowledge production, community, and credentialing. Knowledge products include the periodic "Magazin für Zukünfte" magazine, the Zukunftsstudien (future studies) research database, the "Wegweisung für belastbare Zukünfte" methodology guide, and the Hoffnungsbarometer, an annual longitudinal survey of Swiss hope and future expectations conducted with the University of St. Gallen since 2009. Community products include the Netzwerk Zukunft Schweiz professional directory, self-organized Fachgruppen (specialist groups such as Futures of Health, Futures of Education, Forum für urbane Zukünfte, and Neue Narrative), IMPULSE online events, the futurestream video lecture series, and the Choose Our Future video challenge. Educational products are delivered as Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) programs co-developed and distributed with Swiss partner universities: Strategic Foresight with HWZ, psychologically grounded futures design with FHNW, Crafting Futures with ZHdK, plus MSc-level modules with HES-SO and FH Graubünden. Technology footprint is modest: a website, a CleverReach newsletter system, on-demand video, and standard event tooling; the underlying 'technology' is methodological, centered on scenario planning, trend analysis, Delphi methods, Causal Layered Analysis, and workshop facilitation.

swissfuture's business model is that of a membership association with three revenue streams: recurring membership fees from individuals and institutions; one-time fees for study publications (e.g., CHF 50 for non-members, CHF 25 for members); and revenue share or co-delivery fees from CAS programs, where enrollment, billing, and academic credit are handled by partner universities while swissfuture contributes curriculum, co-branding, and a membership pipeline. Its go-to-market is community-led: audience acquisition runs through specialist events, the magazine, the newsletter, university partnerships, and word-of-mouth within the Swiss foresight professional network. The customer base is a long tail of individual researchers, practitioners, and organizations rather than a small set of enterprise accounts, and the geographic footprint is exclusively Switzerland.

Name

swissfuture

Legal name

swissfuture – Schweizerische Vereinigung für Zukunftsforschung

Website

https://swissfuture.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

swissfuture is the Swiss national non-profit association for futures research, founded in 1970. It serves a community of researchers, foresight practitioners, and educators through publications, an annual Hoffnungsbarometer survey, specialist groups, and CAS educational programs co-delivered with Swiss universities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Futures Research and Strategic Foresight

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Scholarly Societies & Conference Proceedings Publishing (MPAJABAK)

Keywords

• Futures research
• Strategic foresight
• Scenario planning
• Trend analysis
• Futures studies

Headquarters

HQ city

Emmenbrücke

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: swissfuture operates primarily as a membership organization, generating revenue through annual membership fees from individuals and institutions engaged in futures research, foresight, scenario development, and strategic planning.
2. Study Publications: Sale of futures studies and scenario reports. The study on values change in Switzerland (2011) was sold at CHF 50 (CHF 25 for members), with additional in-depth studies at CHF 20 each.
3. Educational Programs: Revenue from Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) programs in collaboration with partner universities including HWZ, FHNW, ZHdK, and HES-SO.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

swissfuture (Schweizerische Vereinigung für Zukunftsforschung) is the Swiss Association for Futures Studies, a non-profit association that promotes futures research and future knowledge in Switzerland. It operates a membership-based network offering publications (Magazin für Zukünfte, Hoffnungsbarometer), educational Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) programs in strategic foresight with partner universities, knowledge tools including the Wegweisung für belastbare Zukünfte framework, professional networking through Netzwerk Zukunft Schweiz and Fachgruppen specialist groups, and public events such as online lectures and IMPULSE sessions.

Product overview

swissfuture (Schweizerische Vereinigung für Zukunftsforschung) is the Swiss Association for Futures Studies, founded in 1970. It operates as a network organization promoting futures research and future knowledge in Switzerland. The organization offers a portfolio of publications (Magazin für Zukünfte magazine, Hoffnungsbarometer annual survey), educational programs (CAS Strategic Foresight with HWZ, CAS Crafting Futures with ZHdK, and psychological futures design with FHNW), knowledge tools (Wegweisung für belastbare Zukünfte guide, Zukunftsstudien database), professional networking (Netzwerk Zukunft Schweiz, Fachgruppen specialist groups), and public events (Online Lectures, IMPULSE events, Choose Our Future initiative). The organization collaborates with Swiss universities, the Swiss Academy of Sciences, and various partner institutions to advance futures literacy and strategic foresight in Switzerland.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• swissfuture – Magazin für Zukünfte Periodically published magazine (Magazin für Zukünfte) dedicated to futures studies, featuring articles on societal trends, technological change, and future scenarios with themed issues covering topics such as acceleration, resources, design, and generational justice. Targeted at members, researchers, and the interested public.
• Hoffnungsbarometer Annual survey (Hope Barometer) conducted in collaboration with the University of St. Gallen and the Swiss Society for Positive Psychology, measuring the Swiss population's expectations, hopes, and perceptions of the future. Published yearly since 2009 for policy, media, and research audiences.
• Zukunftsstudien (Future Studies Database)

Quantifiable outcome

• Hoffnungsbarometer conducted annually since 2009, with results informing public discourse on societal hope and future expectations in Switzerland
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• University of St. GallencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Long-standing collaboration on the annual Hoffnungsbarometer (Hope Barometer). University of St. Gallen conducts the survey in cooperation with swissfuture and the Swiss Society for Positive Psychology. Survey conducted annually since 2009.
• SAGW (Schweizerische Akademie für Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaften)coreOthersswissfuture has been a member of the Swiss Academy for Humanities and Social Sciences since 1976, establishing its academic credibility and institutional recognition within the Swiss research community.
• Hochschule für Wirtschaft Zürich (HWZ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on CAS Strategic Foresight program. swissfuture co-develops curriculum and provides expertise for this professional certificate in strategic foresight, with the program starting August 2026 for 16 teaching days.
• Hochschule für Angewandte Psychologie FHNWcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for CAS Strategic Foresight focusing on psychologically informed futures design for companies. Combines psychological insights with futures research methodology, starting May 2026.
• HES-SO (Haute école spécialisée de suisse occidentale)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for MSc Business Administration with Prospective orientation. Students receive free one-year membership to swissfuture as part of the partnership.
• Zürcher Hochschule der Künste (ZHdK)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on CAS Crafting Futures program. The 19-day course teaches futures thinking tools, creative approaches, and speculative design methods. Registration deadline January 5, 2026.
• FH GraubündenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Business Transformation module within MScBA program. Provides foresight training as part of the 'New Business' specialization.
• STURMundDRANGminorOthersKnowledge partner for the 'Neue Narrative' (New Narratives) specialist group, providing expertise in strategic narrative development for transformation projects.
• WAALD (Frank Otto Dietrich)minorOthersKnowledge partner for the 'Neue Narrative' specialist group, supporting narrative-based approaches to futures design.
• Institute for Global ProsperityminorGTM or Marketing Partnerswissfuture supports the 'Choose Our Future' video challenge, a project that invites video creators to depict futures 2050. Selected projects receive financial support based on four scenario frameworks.
• Swiss Society for Positive PsychologycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnnual collaboration on Hoffnungsbarometer survey, combining futures research with positive psychology perspectives.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Sitra (Finnish Innovation Fund): Finland's parliamentary foresight fund producing national and thematic futures studies. Comparable to swissfuture in publishing scenario-based research and convening national foresight communities, but operates at country-scale with government funding.
• Z_Punkt: A German foresight and trend analysis consultancy. Comparable to swissfuture in futures methods and trend research, but organized as a commercial firm rather than a non-profit membership association.
• Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP): A Geneva-based foundation offering executive education and policy research on global security. Comparable to swissfuture in academic-style programming and Geneva institutional presence, with overlap in futures-oriented strategic analysis.

Direct peers

• World Futures Studies Federation (WFSF): A global network of futures researchers and practitioners founded in 1973, organized as a non-profit federation. Like swissfuture, it is a membership-based scholarly society promoting futures research methodology and international collaboration.
• School of International Futures (SOIF): A UK-based non-profit focused on building strategic foresight capabilities in governments and organizations. Closely comparable to swissfuture in offering training, network, and applied foresight methodology.
• Millennium Project: A global participatory foresight initiative operating through nodes in over 50 countries. Like swissfuture, it is a non-profit producing futures research, scenario studies, and global state-of-the-future reports.

Broad incumbents

• Institute for the Future (IFTF): A leading US-based futures research and strategic foresight organization founded in 1968. Overlaps with swissfuture in scenario planning, foresight methodology, and publishing, but operates at greater scale with corporate clients.
• Dubai Future Foundation: A government-backed organization driving foresight and future-readiness in Dubai. Operates scale and programming beyond swissfuture, but shares the mission of institutionalizing futures thinking and publishing research.

Emerging players

• Reos Partners: A global social innovation consultancy that uses scenario planning and systemic change methods. Comparable to swissfuture in futures methodology and cross-sector convening, but operates as a for-profit consultancy.
• Foreseeable Futures: A US-based futures consultancy that trains organizations in foresight and scenario planning. Comparable to swissfuture's CAS curriculum in strategic foresight, but delivers primarily to corporate clients.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/swissfuture

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 swissfuture