Futures Thinking 2.0:
Futures Thinking 2.0:
Introducing Futures Thinking and Foresight to UP Manila Administrative Staff
Introducing Futures Thinking and Foresight to UP Manila Administrative Staff
Embedded Files
May 22, 2026
1:00 PM to 5:00 PM
8F Social Hall, Central Block Building, UP-PGH
Authors: Sofia Ysabelle C. Julia
Human Resource Development Office
The University of the Philippines Manila, a pioneer health sciences center, is among the leading educational institutions committed to providing excellent public service towards its stakeholders and general citizens through evidence and policy-based programs in order to ensure the community’s progression towards a positive and sustainable future. Knowing this, administrative employees are expected to anticipate and consider multiple perspectives to come up with multiple possible outcomes to achieve the most optimal result.
In materializing such futures, the Human Resource Development Office, in partnership with the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Extension and the Futures Thinking Technical Working Group, continued the Futures Thinking Education Caravan. Aimed towards Administrative employees, the training “Futures Thinking 2.0” was held on May 22, 2026 from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM, located at the 8F Social Hall of the UP-PGH Building.
The Futures Thinking 2.0 Training is divided into three sessions with each key speaker. The first session talks about FT 102, Part 2 of the Introduction to Futures Thinking and Insight, led by Dr. Emerito Jose A. Faraon, the incumbent Director of the Research Management and Translation Office. The second session discusses ‘Scanning the Futures of REPS,’ led by Dr. Raymond Fernando B. Yu, an associate professor in Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the UP Manila College of Pharmacy. Lastly, the third session involves visioning and backcasting for work productivity and career alignment which was elaborated by Dr. Nica Aila Bandong, a professor at the UP College of Allied Medical Professions.
The Vice Chancellor for Research and Extension, Dr. Leslie Dalmacio, formally opened the program with her warm welcome remarks. In her message, she highlighted that behind all of the medical milestones and research breakthroughs that UP Manila achieves are the administrative employees of UP Manila that consistently delivers through their work; the lifeline of the institutions. The Futures Thinking 2.0 initiative was curated with the employees in mind, and has begun its execution since last year with the same team and partnerships. Dr. Dalmacio reminded everyone that this training will focus on the actual application of Futures Thinking and how it can be applied in their everyday work tasks. She also mentioned that this training is UP Manila’s way of investing towards them, the employees, for everyone is involved in the making of the future of the institution. Hence, she concluded her speech by stating that this opportunity is a way of recognizing that everyone is valued within the community and are valuable to UP Manila.
For the first session, Dr. Emerito Faraon led the discussion on the FT 2.0, an Introduction to Futures Thinking and Foresight. He began his discussion by stating that the present office they have today is the product of the past, and their present office will be the past of the future office. Further, imagining is crucial when doing futures thinking for what is being taught in this educational caravan is the futuristic way of thinking. He added how futures thinking has been applied in their work, especially during strategic planning; however, the difference lies in the visualization of what they want to be, towards what they can see, and the details they have to take note of. Based on the pre-survey of participants, Dr. Faraon collated and showcased seven thematic problems of today and seven thematic futures of tomorrow, which are all in favor of enhancing and easing workflow between employees and offices. These themes were: (1) Document & Transaction Flow, (2) Procurement under RA 12009, (3) Records Management, (4) Workload & Staffing, (5) Inter-office Communication, (6) Change Resilience, and (7) Dignity for Job Orders. Dr. Faraon concluded his talk by reiterating that the future is not where one is going, but it is what you are building today and tomorrow.
The second session was spearheaded by Dr. Raymond Yu with his discussion centered around scanning the possible futures. In his talk, he revolved around the methodology of Futures Thinking, the Foresight Framework, and delved into the Mapping aspect, with three sub-aspects which are Framing, Scanning, and Futuring. He provided relatable scenarios that administrative employees may find themselves into and provided possible solutions they may consider to address those scenarios. Activities on identifying focal issues in their offices were also done which allows employees to analyze the internal proceedings of their respective offices. Moreover, another technique called ‘Causal Layered Analysis’ was also introduced which can be utilized in every office in UP Manila. Similarly, participants also tried creating the current CLA of their office. In addition, Dr. Yu also noted the global trends that can affect the workplace and impact the worldview of current employees, anchoring on the importance of a research-based scanning approach. The STEEPLE Framework was also showcased and how it can be adapted when understanding the situation of their offices.
The third and last session was led by Dr. Nica Aila Bandong with her discussion on Visioning and Backcasting the Futures as Administrative Staff. She started by showing a Vision Board, one example of how visioning is done in one’s lives; putting things into perspective, manifesting it, and becoming motivated in pursuing it. In her talk, she still centered on the Framework Foresight, particularly on the Influencing Aspect, with three sub-aspects of Visioning, Designing, and Adapting. With the topic of visioning as the core, she reiterated that the community has an integrated plan in enabling an organization to achieve the desired future. Dr. Bandong outlined several known approaches or strategies for visioning, with the most commonly used approach being ‘Backcasting.’ She elaborated on what the approach is, the benefits, as well as the process in applying Backcasting in their offices. A Visioning activity was also conducted to the participants with the entire UPM Administrative Staff’s future as its considered stakeholders, specifically by envisioning their future by 2040.
The HRDO Director, Dr. Michael Antonio F. Mendoza officially closed the program by sharing how these kinds of development training were conducted to boost the employees’ hope in themselves and uplift their trust and confidence in UP Manila as a public institution. He also thanked the participants for allotting time to participate and becoming a part of the change for things to be better in the university. He ended his message with a reminder to instill a forward thinking in doing one’s daily work routine and should begin how, as an employee, will they roll forward and upward towards their goals.
A total of 36 UP Manila Administrative staff have attended and participated in the Futures Thinking 2.0 Training.
We, the Learning and Development Section of the UP Manila HRDO, strive to deliver training programs and caravans that are both conducive and beneficial to our fellow UP Manila constituents. Look out for more exciting updates on events that we’ve got for you here at our website!
Page updated
Report abuse