South Sudan builds long-term thinking while addressing present needs

In a nation where immediate needs often dominate the agenda, long-term thinking can feel like a luxury. Why envision the future when the present demands so much? 

Long-term thinking equips us to address today’s pressing needs with solutions that build towards a more resilient and sustainable tomorrow. At the Anticipatory Policy Development Workshop hosted by UNDP South Sudan and Demos Helsinki, the answer was clear: the long-term perspective is not just a motivation but a necessity. Without a shared vision of the future, decisions made today may inadvertently lead us down the most familiar paths, not the right ones. 

Scroll down to watch a short video about the collaboration.

Building a vision together: Consensus for change

The week-long workshop, which brought together approximately 40 public sector leaders, built on our work from the previous year to embed foresight into South Sudan’s policy processes. The foresight workshops delivered in 2023  for some 270 senior civil servants served as a foundational activity. This time, our effort led to the development of draft policies addressing critical areas such as climate resilience, inclusive governance, and sustainable development. These policies are slated for integration into the South Sudan Vision 2040, a national framework aimed at creating a united, peaceful, and prosperous nation founded on robust democratic governance and sustainable development principles. For instance, participants co-created actionable strategies to improve agricultural productivity through modernised practices, ensuring food security while addressing environmental challenges. These outputs reflect a shift from reactive governance to forward-looking, collaborative policymaking. Through collaboration and co-creation, participants worked to imagine South Sudan’s future, navigate uncertainties, and translate these visions into actionable policies. This approach emphasises that shaping a desired future is not the task of a few—it is a collective effort carried by many.

Starting in the future: an underutilised tool for policymaking

What sets anticipatory policymaking apart from traditional policymaking is its departure from linear projections of the future. For example, during the workshop, participants envisioned a future where agricultural modernisation ensured both food and climate security. By using backcasting techniques, they identified actionable steps to achieve this vision, such as introducing drought-resistant crops and investing in sustainable irrigation systems. This approach not only clarified long-term goals but also influenced immediate decisions about resource allocation and policy focus, creating a direct pathway from vision to impact. 

Instead of beginning with the constraints of today, participants started by envisioning a desired future. Tools like horizon scanning and the Futures Wheel allowed them to explore emerging trends and potential consequences, creating a comprehensive view of possible scenarios. These exercises trained their “divergent thinking muscle,” enabling them to break free from reactive decision-making, while expanding the range of options available and empowering them to actively shape South Sudan’s future.

A journey from vision to action

The workshop’s design mirrored the anticipatory policy cycle, moving from envisioning to planning, directly supporting UNDP’s strategic goals of resilience, inclusivity, and sustainable development. By integrating this cycle into policy processes, the workshop not only addressed immediate needs but also provided a structured framework for long-term transformation, ensuring alignment with donor priorities.

1. Exploring future possibilities: Participants analysed weak signals, trends, and uncertainties to identify pathways for change.
2. Defining priorities: Trend analysis highlighted key areas where policy interventions could make the greatest impact.
3. Mapping risks and opportunities: Backcasting helped translate future visions into concrete steps, while tools like the Futures Wheel visualised the ripple effects of policy decisions.
4. Co-creating solutions: Collaborative stress-testing exercises—including red-teaming—challenged assumptions and ensured the robustness of policy proposals.
5. Finalising and validating: The week concluded with actionable policy drafts aligned with South Sudan’s strategic goals.

More than just policies: Building belief  

The participants’ reflections highlighted the value of the process itself. The workshop employed a multi-method approach, integrating foresight, design, and behavioural methods, amongst others. Practical tools, such as the Futures Wheel and backcasting, were paired with deeper explorations of different ways of knowing—cognitive and relational—including methods fostering collective social conditions like trust, openness, and mutual understanding. These relational dynamics played a critical role in enabling transformative policy designs. Techniques fostering collective conditions for trust and openness allowed participants to connect meaningfully, challenge siloed thinking, and engage in critical discussions. This approach not only strengthened the resulting policies but also underscored the foundational importance of relational dynamics and inclusivity in governance.

One participant remarked, “Starting policy development with a strong vision and working backwards has been transformative. It’s not just about what we do—it’s about who we want to become as a nation.”

A vision for South Sudan’s future

The workshop aligns closely with UNDP’s strategic goals of fostering resilience, inclusivity, and sustainable development, as articulated in its 2022-2025 Strategic Plan, which emphasises anticipatory governance, structural transformation, and inclusive decision-making to address multidimensional risks and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. By equipping South Sudan’s leaders with foresight tools and methodologies, it has laid the groundwork for governance that is not only responsive to immediate needs but also anticipatory of future challenges and opportunities. 

To ensure lasting impact, plans are in place to integrate these tools into routine policy-making processes through follow-up training, cross-ministerial foresight teams, and embedding foresight practices within ministerial structures and processes. This approach aims to institutionalise innovative governance by working on mindset, behavioural change, and practical adoption across organisations, ensuring foresight becomes a day-to-day tool for policymakers. These initiatives aim to institutionalise anticipatory practices, enabling South Sudan to continually adapt and innovate in response to emerging trends and challenges.

As the workshop demonstrated, balancing short-term priorities with long-term vision is not an either-or choice. It is the only way to create a resilient and adaptive governance system capable of navigating complexity and uncertainty. By keeping sight of the future, South Sudan’s leaders are taking crucial steps toward shaping a tomorrow that reflects the hopes and aspirations of its people.

Moving forward

This is just the beginning. The policy drafts created during the workshop will require further refinement, collaboration, and iteration. But the seeds have been planted. With continued support from UNDP and other stakeholders, the lessons from this workshop can inspire broader adoption of anticipatory approaches, ensuring that South Sudan’s policies are not just reactive but transformative.

In a world where the future often feels uncertain, South Sudan’s journey shows us that having a vision is not just inspiring—it’s essential.

Watch a short video about the collaboration

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