The future is yours.
At Near & Next, we employ foresight and futures thinking frameworks to envision transformative futures, develop resilient strategies, identify emerging innovation opportunities, and mitigate potential risks amidst uncertainty and complexity.
Futures matter. Different images of the future create different interpretations of the present and different possibilities for action. By nature, all policies and strategies are oriented towards the future.
It's about futures-informed decision-making today.
SERVICES
Using futures in multiple ways
Resilient Strategies
Develop agile and resilient strategies adaptable to multiple potential futures.
Opportunities & Risks
Analyze trends, emerging issues, drivers of change, and detect weak signals to foster innovation and mitigate risks.
Frameworks & methodologies
Chosing the right Foresight and Futures thinking frameworks & methodologies
Solutions
Tailored approaches to integrate foresight and futures thinking into your organization.
MANIFESTO
The Near & Next approach
What Happens Between Near and Next
The future doesn't arrive fully formed — it emerges, layer by layer. What’s near carries the signals of what’s next. What’s next depends on the decisions made today.
At Near & Next, we help organizations navigate this unfolding edge. We map the shifts already shaping the horizon, make sense of them, and translate what we see into choices that matter and resonate.
We believe that futures are not abstract concepts; they are constructed through daily decisions, collective imagination, and intentional design.
Our work lives in the tension between proximity and possibility — between what is near and what comes next.
What We Stand For
Proximity: Staying close to emerging signals and what’s already unfolding.
Resonance: Identifying what will echo across time, not just what is novel.
Foresight with Impact: Turning anticipation into actionable strategies.
Dialogue Over Prediction: Co-creating futures through collaboration, imagination and inquiry.
Decision as Design: Seeing each decision as a design act that shapes what’s next.
How We Work
We don’t predict futures. We prepare for them.
We don’t impose scenarios. We co-create them.
We don’t offer certainty. We help organizations thrive in uncertainty.
ABOUT
Futures science is a multidisciplinary practice.
Near & Next is led by Sylvain Cottong, an economist with over 25 years of experience advising national and international organizations and companies across public, non-profit, and private sectors in various areas of expertise:
-
Strategic foresight & futures thinking
-
Organizational & Leadership development
-
Strategy development & change management
-
Decision making
-
Digital transformation & AI adoption
-
Innovation management & design thinking
-
Knowledge management & Corporate learning
-
Communication strategies
-
Media Production
-
Event design & facilitation
-
Research
-
Teaching & training
Near & Next is a brand of strategybuilders sàrl, a Luxembourg-based limited company. Trade register: B231601
CONTACT
Let’s Work Together