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When he was 19 years old, Professor Ted Fuller started his first business. This was the first in a series of both business and academic pursuits that also included the development of manufacturing and technology enterprises and academic research centres.
At the core of each of these ventures is a focus on creating futures for people and society, while considering the responsibilities that come with that. His research into enterprise, foresight, anticipation, and emergence has helped others to generate social and economic change.
Ted initially joined the University as Head of Lincoln International Business School and resumed a full professorial role in 2015. He is now Emeritus Professor of Responsible Foresight for Sustainable Development and also sits on a number of advisory boards.
My academic career has been shaped by my belief in the power of people to create better futures for themselves and others. My personal experience as a business co-owner was a grounding for researching the future of enterprise, and that led to a deep concern over the way that humanity can improve its futures.
Professor Ted Fuller
UNESCO Chair on Responsible Foresight for Sustainable Development
In January 2019, Ted founded the UNESCO Chair on Responsible Foresight for Sustainable Development. UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) is the United Nations body responsible for coordinating international cooperation in education, science, culture, and communication. Its goal is to help prevent war by building the defences of peace in the minds of people.
His main role as UNESCO Chair is advocacy of Responsible Futures, which involves international collaborative research, publications, and regular presentations that aim to invoke real-world change.
"As the UNESCO Chair holder for the University of Lincoln, I work with the Chair group of colleagues and provide support and guidance for projects addressing futures and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals," explains Ted. "This is carried out in collaboration with partners from the Global South, with project themes including gender equality, climate futures, technology education, economic development, and food security."
The Lincoln UNESCO Chair on Responsible Foresight for Sustainable Development was created to help address the global challenges of sustainable development through research. Chair members work collaboratively with partners to develop greater capacity for responsible foresight, especially in Global South contexts.
At a recent symposium at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, Ted’s panel collated their joint research to contribute to the way that the United Nations’ foresight activities are designed and evaluated.
He also recently participated in the World Summit of Committees of the Future, a gathering in Montevideo, Uruguay, of over 300 parliamentarians from more than 70 countries. During the event, Ted led a working group on democracy of the future which was concerned with the impacts of artificial intelligence. The Summit subsequently produced a Declaration which was sent to the United Nations as part of their work on AI and governance.
Commenting on his role, Ted says: “All organisations, large or small, need to understand the ways that the future is shaping, and how that is shaping their future. Our capability to do that is limited in many ways, and I see my work as extending the capacity to make sense of change and its implications for the future.”
The Second World Summit of the Committees of the Future, which was open to all parliaments and held in Uruguay last year, explored the interaction between present-day parliaments, the future of democracy, and artificial intelligence (AI).
You can find out more about Professor Ted Fuller's research interests, publications, and professional affiliations on his staff profile page.
