Launching the
Qazaq Research
Institute for Futures
Studies
by Dr. John A. Sweeney
T
he Qazaq Research Institute for Futures
Studies (QRIFS) is an “indisciplinary” re-
search-based and practice-driven learning lab
designed to further futures studies and strategic
foresight across Qazaqstan, Central Asia, and
beyond. Our primary aim is to re-imagine how
futures can and might be engaged, envisioned,
and enacted at the university level and beyond.
QRIFS will integrate futures into the general
education curriculum, build a minor option for the
bachelor’s of business administration degree, and
offer thesis-track options for MBA, DBA, and PhD
programs at Narxoz University. At present, QRIFS As Qazaqstan’s first higher-education institute
focused on futures and foresight, QRIFS is brea-
king new ground and will focus first and foremost
on local and national then regional and global
projects. With that said, such scale divisions are
quite arbitrary in Qazaqstan and have been so for
some time. From the storied history of the Silk
Road to China’s contemporary aspirations (and
concerted efforts) to forge an interconnected
logistics network—also known as the One Belt,
One Road Initiative—Qazaqstan plays an integ-
ral role in the global story of past, present, and
future(s). Over the past two decades, as the World Indeed, Qazaqstan’s per capita GDP has risen
six fold since 2002. What has helped Qazaqstan
succeed in the past, however, will not be what
creates sustainable and resilient “images of the
future” that can and must inspire change toward
more resilient and sustainable futures. As such,
critical and creative foresight is not a mere luxury;
it is an absolute necessity to forge pathways
toward a climate-friendly preferred future. A common mantra amongst futurists is that
things often change faster than we expect. This
axiom hit close to home when Nursultan Nazar- His departure raises many questions, although
Nazarbayev will continue to exercise substan-
tial influence as part of the country’s Security
Council. As my favorite Greek philosopher, Herac-
litus, observed, “the only thing that is constant is
change.” QRIFS is already faced with a historic
shift whose outcome and overall impact remains
decidedly uncertain, especially given that Presi-
dential elections are scheduled for 2020. As Dator
observes, futures studies is all about “surfing tsu-
namis,” and, not that one should expect any less
in postnormal times, there are waves-a-plenty
thus far.
is nested within the Narxoz Business School,
which is leading the charge to transform higher
education across the region. Bank reports, Qazaqstan has transitioned from
lower-middle to upper-middle income status—a
feat due in no small part to its lucrative, but also
carbon-intensive, oil, gas, and mining industries. bayev, who has been President of the Republic of
Qazaqstan since 1990 and in power before the
end of the Soviet Union, suddenly and unexpec-
tedly announced his retirement in March 2019. At present, QRIFS is very much in start-up mode
with myself, one faculty researcher, and one
research fellow currently on staff. We recently
60 HF |
April 2019
HF | Human Futures 61