Richard Lum
“In a period in which we seem to lack inspiring visions for our future, it is exciting to have an opportunity to work with a group that is simultaneously so ambitious and so innovative in their efforts to transform American life. With all of the amazing individuals who are contributing to FORESIGHT, this promises to be a unique, inclusive, and inspiring experience.”
Richard A. K. Lum is an academically trained futurist and chief executive of Vision Foresight Strategy LLC (VFS), a foresight and strategic analysis firm based in Honolulu. His professional interests include the futures of governance, conflict and security, and industrialism. VFS’s current project work includes modeling and forecasting for a $10 billion educational institution and research for the Canadian governmental foresight agency. Richard’s current and recent work for the US Department of Defense includes research and concept work for distributed warfare, the F-35 Lightning II Program Office, the SOF community, and research and foresight work in support of the Strategic Capabilities Office, as well as speaking at the Naval War College, SOFWERX, and the Association of the United States Army LANPAC Symposium.
Richard has worked with a wide variety of non-profit organizations, for-profit companies, and government agencies on foresight, strategy development, and strategic thinking, including projects for organizations such as the European Commission, the UK government, the US Department of Defense, and PepsiCo. He has helped organizations apply foresight and develop strategy for endeavors ranging from the restoration of ancient Hawaiian island land management divisions, to crowdsourcing foresight development, to helping educators in the US anticipate the long-term futures of learning.
Richard is the author of 4 Steps to the Future: A Quick and Clean Guide to Creating Foresight and his contributions were featured in the book Thinking about the Future: Guidelines for Strategic Foresight. He has been published in the Journal of Futures Studies, the journal Futures, and the International Journal of System of Systems Engineering. He is the co-creator of the Verge General Practice Framework for foresight work, which is used by foresight practitioners throughout the UK, Europe, Africa, and Asia, for horizon scanning, scenario development, and visioning work.
Richard holds a PhD in political science from the futures studies program at the University of Hawai‘i. His dissertation research focused on developing a conceptual framework for designing future governance systems.