Design Futures Aotearoa

What Design Futures Aotearoa does

Design Futures Aotearoa is a community-led organization founded in 2023 in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, New Zealand, that builds futures thinking and strategic foresight capability across Aotearoa New Zealand. Originally established as Speculative Futures Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, the organization rebranded in 2024 to expand scope from a single Auckland chapter to a national community, with events and partnerships extending into Christchurch (Ōtautahi) and internationally. Its primary audience comprises public-interest organizations, central and local government bodies, educational institutions, and community/social impact practitioners seeking to embed long-term thinking in decision-making, with a distinctive positioning around Te Ao Māori perspectives and intergenerational equity. The organization is co-founded by Victoria Mulligan and Jade Tang-Taylor, with a core team that includes Alice Dimond (Futures Fellow, Kāi Tahu), Dr. Cheryl Doig (Futures Auntie), and Howard Lange (Communications Lead), operating in the 1-10 employee band.

The organization's core offerings are community and content rather than software products. Its persistent artifacts are the Aotearoa Futures Network Map — a collaborative visualization built on the third-party Kumu.io platform that maps relationships among futures practitioners across New Zealand — the Futures Workshop Podcast, and a monthly Community of Practice held on the first Friday of each month. Programming consists of speaker events, workshops, webinars, masterclasses, and an annual Futures EOY Gathering, with international partners such as the Institute for the Future (IFTF), Dubai Future Foundation, and RMIT contributing content and speakers. The organization does not develop proprietary technology; its value lies in network weaving, curation, and capability development rather than software infrastructure.

Revenue mechanics are community-funded and partnership-supported rather than commercially structured. The organization accepts donations through Open Collective, partners with corporates including AcademyEX, Datacom, 2degrees, and Deloitte New Zealand for event venues and collaboration, and offers free programming with an optional 'buy one gift one' ticket mechanism. There is no disclosed pricing model, no membership fees, no service contracts, and no paying customer logos in the input data. The go-to-market is community-led, relying on events, the Future Threads newsletter, the podcast, LinkedIn, and the network map to reach and engage practitioners. The organization has participated in the Dubai Futures Forum in 2023, 2024, and 2025, and is connected to the Next Generation Foresight Practitioners (NGFP) network of 900+ members globally.

Name

Design Futures Aotearoa

Legal name

Design Futures Aotearoa

Website

https://designfutures.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Design Futures Aotearoa is a community-led organization founded in 2023 that convenes events, a monthly Community of Practice, a podcast, and a network map to build futures thinking capability among public-interest organizations across Aotearoa New Zealand.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Strategic Foresight and Futures Thinking Services

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Event Strategy & Experience Design (BPAFAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Indigenous & Community Cultural Institutions (THAJADAK)

Keywords

• Strategic foresight services
• Futures thinking practice
• Community events facilitation
• Scenario planning workshops
• Futures network mapping

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Community Funding / Donations: The organization accepts donations through Open Collective platform. They also collaborate with partners and sponsors for events and activities. Revenue appears to come from community support, partnerships, and potentially membership or event fees.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Design Futures Aotearoa convenes events, networks, and resources to build futures and foresight practice for groups and individuals across Aotearoa New Zealand. Its core offerings include speaker events and workshops with local and international futurists, monthly online Community of Practice sessions, the Aotearoa Futures Network Map (a Kumu.io-based visualization), and the Futures Workshop Podcast. The organization amplifies futures practice among public-interest organisations to embed long-term thinking in decision-making and creates inclusive futures experiences centred on Te Ao Māori and intergenerational equity.

Product overview

Design Futures Aotearoa is a community organization that provides a portfolio of futures thinking services rather than a unified software product. Their core offerings include the Aotearoa Futures Network Map (a collaborative visualization platform built on Kumu.io), the Futures Workshop Podcast (educational media content), and regular Futures Community of Practice sessions. These offerings work together to build capability in long-term, inclusive, and intergenerational futures thinking across Aotearoa New Zealand's public-interest organizations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Aotearoa Futures Network Map

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• AcademyEXcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademyEX is a key strategic partner that provides venue space and collaborates on events. Jade Tang-Taylor serves as Innovation Advisor & Facilitator at academyEX Tech Futures Lab.
• DatacomminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDatacom is listed as a partner, with past events held at their Auckland CBD offices.
• 2degreesminorStrategic or Co-development Partner2degrees is a partner that has hosted events at their Head Office in Auckland.
• Deloitte New ZealandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeloitte has collaborated on workshops including the Future of Auckland workshop, with Victoria Mulligan and Jade Tang-Taylor facilitating sessions.
• Institute for the Future (IFTF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIFTF is a major international partner. Victoria Mulligan participated in IFTF-led sessions including 'Designing for Collaboration: Mapping a National Futures Network'. The organization hosts IFTF speakers for events.
• Dubai Future FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Dubai Future Foundation hosts the Dubai Futures Forum where Design Futures Aotearoa team members have participated on panels. Dr. Cheryl Doig is one of 12 futurists globally chosen as a Friend of the Forum supporting the design and engagement with the Dubai Future Forum.
• RMIT Master of Design FuturesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRMIT is an academic partner offering the Master of Design Futures program. Victoria Mulligan has collaborated with RMIT on Pacific-focused futures events.
• ThinkBeyondcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThinkBeyond, led by Dr. Cheryl Doig, is a key partner. Dr. Doig serves as Futures Auntie for Design Futures Aotearoa and ThinkBeyond collaborates on events and futures initiatives.
• Metafuture SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMetafuture School, founded by Dr. Ivana Milojević, is a partner that provides futures education and has collaborated on masterclasses.
• Media Design SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedia Design School is listed as a partner in the futures ecosystem.
• McGuinness InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMcGuinness Institute is listed as a partner in the Design Futures Aotearoa ecosystem.
• ThinkPlacecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThinkPlace is a design strategy firm. Jade Tang-Taylor serves as Fractional Director of ThinkPlace while also co-founding Design Futures Aotearoa.
• Auckland CouncilminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAuckland Council is listed as a partner, with the organization working to support futures thinking in local government.
• WEALL AotearoaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWEALL (World Economic Forum for All) Aotearoa is a partner focused on inclusive futures and wellbeing economics.
• Tokona Te Raki - Māori Future MakerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTokona Te Raki is a key partner focused on Māori futures. Alice Dimond works at Tokona te Raki leading the Mō Āpōpō Future-Makers project. The organizations collaborate on embedding Te Ao Māori into futures thinking.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ThinkPlace: Design strategy firm specializing in systems change and human-centred design across NZ and Australia. Co-founder Jade Tang-Taylor serves as Fractional Director of ThinkPlace, and the firms collaborate on futures workshops — directly overlapping on service offerings.
• Shaping Tomorrow: Global futures and foresight services firm offering strategic foresight, scenario planning, and training workshops. Operates in the same foresight capability-building category as DFA, with overlapping service offerings aimed at organizational clients.
• Metafuture School: Online futures education school founded by Dr. Ivana Milojević offering courses and masterclasses. Operates in the same futures-thinking capability-building category as DFA, and is a listed partner for joint masterclasses.
• Speculative Futures: Global network of local Speculative Futures chapters running events and meetups on futures thinking. DFA originated as the Speculative Futures Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland chapter before rebranding, making this the closest peer in structure and community-led model.
• Next Generation Foresight Practitioners (NGFP): Global network of 900+ emerging foresight practitioners. DFA's team members are fellows in the network, and it shares the same community-of-practice structure focused on building capability among next-generation futurists.

Broad incumbents

• Institute for the Future (IFTF): The world's leading independent futures research organization based in California. IFTF is a direct strategic partner of DFA and operates in the same foresight/futures-thinking category but at vastly greater scale, with paid research, convenings, and forecasting work.
• Policy Horizons Canada: Canadian government foresight organization applying strategic foresight to public policy. Comparable to DFA in its public-sector futures focus, though operating as a federal agency with substantially greater resources.
• Dubai Future Foundation: UAE government-affiliated futures organization hosting the Dubai Futures Forum. It is a strategic partner and convenes global futurists, operating at significantly larger scale as a state-backed institution with paid programs and policy influence.
• RMIT Centre for Futures and foresight: Academic institution offering the Master of Design Futures program and conducting futures research. Listed as a partner of DFA on Pacific-focused futures events, overlapping on futures methodology and education.

Regional players

• McGuinness Institute: New Zealand independent think tank working on long-term strategic foresight and intergenerational issues. Both organizations serve the NZ foresight ecosystem and are listed partners, making this a comparable peer operating in the same geography.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/design-futures-aotearoa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Design Futures Aotearoa