Course material

1. A report on past and present of Sydney, and explore
A report on past and present of Sydney, and explore the emerging trends and signals which
may impact the future.The purpose of this report is to form a grounded understanding of
the past and present of Sydney, and explore the emerging trends and signals which may
impact the future. This will involve conducting research and synthesising findings to form
the basis of your futures exploration.About the report and things needed in the report:RICH
PICTUREA rich picture that encapsulates a coherent and nuanced understanding of your
challenge space. This is a distillation and representation of your research into your chosen
place, community and theme.The objective of this rich picture is to establish a grounded
understanding of your challenge space. This will support you in exploring future
opportunities and barriers to change.Your rich picture should demonstrate both a breadth
and depth of exploration. It will be your synthesis of the chosen context incorporating the 3
elements of the futures triangle:Past forces which have shaped the present and emerging
futurePresent day conditions and dynamics, exploring norms and behaviours of
todayEmerging trends, signals and drivers which are impacting/emerging the space, gather
via horizon scanYour rich picture should communicate a nuanced understanding of your
challenge space, including:key features,structures, things and technologies,stakeholders
(human and non-human),narrativesvaluesYou should also be examining how these
elements interrelate and interact with one another.It will be impossible to produce a
completely comprehensive representation of everything. Instead, this rich picture should
illustrate the areas you have explored, and the areas which you are especially drawn to
understanding further. This should demonstrate a broad understanding of high level forces,
as well as areas of more focused research and unpacking.You are encouraged to get creative
with how you present your rich pictures. You can support the communication of your rich
picture with text elements. Your rich pictures should present the past, present and future of
your challenge space with clarity and coherence.Your submissions should be the equivalent
size of A2 or larger. This can be created digitally, or a scan of a hand-drawn artefact. Please
ensure that it is clear and legible. You do not need to reference your rich picture, but
PLEASE ensure that you are drawing from credible sources to support your
understanding.DEEP DIVE ANALYSISSupporting your rich picture will be some further
analysis into key aspects of the past, present and future.PASTYour rich picture should
feature key historical events which have shaped the present and may continue to influence
the emerging future. The past should be presented in a way to coherently links to the
present day conditions of your challenge space.Additionally, you will conduct a deep dive

2. analysis into events in history, identified in relation to your place and community. This
analysis (300 words each) should outlining the chosen events and their significance and
impact on your challenge space. In your exploration you may choose to explore both history
from a macro and/or micro level, as well as events from further in the past, or more
recent.Your deep dive should present a cohesive narrative of history, exploring the
connections between each event towards the present and emerging future. Your analysis
should also provide a rationale for why you chose to explore your set of historical events, in
relation to the challenge space and your personal perspective on its significance.This
analysis should address the narratives, materials and values associated with the history you
uncover. Your analysis should investigate how the historical events identified relate to one
another, and how these events together have brought about the present and emerging
future(s).PRESENTYour rich picture will be primarily focused on illustrating your
understanding of the present; the structures and dynamics of your chosen place, community
and theme. This should encompass both high-level macro elements, as well as more specific
micro features.In addition to this you will conduct a deep dive into underlying present-day
norms and their associated narratives, materials and values. Your analysis of each norm
(300 words each) should investigate the everyday behaviours, activities and practices in
your challenge space to gain an understanding of how we live in the present.Describe what
these norms are, how they exist in the present and how we live in accordance with them in
your chosen place and community. Unpack them through the narratives, materials and
values framework. Each norm should be presented with imagery illustrating how they are
practised. You should also critically engage with these norms; examining how these norms
may interrelate, the positive and negative impacts, who they affect and what their causes
and costs are. Your analysis should also provide a rationale for why you chose to focus on
your chosen norms, addressing your personal perspective on its significance in the
challenge space.FUTUREThrough a horizon scan, you will explore and identify trends,
drivers and weak signals which could affect the emerging future of your challenge space.
Your scanning should feature a range of interesting insights from different sectors and
scale, and encompass a range of sources. These trends/drivers/signals will be incorporated
into your rich picture.Additionally, you will conduct a deep dive into key trends/weak
signals/drivers (300 words each). In this analysis you should be exploring the origins of the
trend/driver/signal, unpacking new narratives, materials and values, anticipating the costs
and consequences, as well as the politics behind it, and outline how/why these
trends/driver/signals are relevant to your challenge space. Your analysis should also
address why you chose to focus on these particular trends/driver/signals. You should also
explore how these trends may work in relation to one or more of the identified trends.