Pandemics: existential risks and enablers of change

Pandemics are agents of creative destruction that expose the critical vulnerabilities and inequalities in society while also supercharging innovation through necessity. Often, pandemics act as expressways to the future that force us to reassess the status quo, break away from ingrained modes of thought, and overhaul our systems and structures. The COVID-19 crisis we find ourselves dealing with today is no exception. This report examines the societal impacts of pandemics in a past-present-futures perspective and outlines how tools and capabilities like scenario planning, megatrend analysis, and futures literacy can be used to reimagine and chart out our post-pandemic trajectories.