From strategic planning to regional foresight in the Outaouais: The difficult construction of a new sense of time
Through a case study of Prospective Outaouais 2030, we reflect on the prospects and limits of a territorial prospective approach in a regional context dominated by a culture of strategic planning. First, we show how strategic planning and prospective methodologies differ in terms of their sense of time. Strategic planning tends to be close to action and typically refers to the short term while prospective methodologies usually prefer the long term. Secondly, we present the different steps that were taken during a prospective process in order to integrate the long term in the development of the Outaouais region. Our analysis shows how transplanting a prospective methodology in a context dominated by short-term planning, even while confronted by some resistance, allows for regional long-term scenarios to emerge.