This report provides an assessment of the existing anticipatory innovation governance capacity in Lithuania, Italy, and Malta, to build resilience and long-term thinking in policymaking and the public administration. It also includes a cross-country comparison of practices and approaches to strategic foresight capacity and institutionalisation in public administrations. More anticipatory approaches can help strengthen the effectiveness of public institutions.
This report is one of the outcomes of the OECD’s project with the Lithuanian Government’s Strategic Analysis Centre, the Italian National School of Administration (Scuola Nazionale dell’Amministrazione – SNA), and the Office of the Prime Minister in Malta. It is one of the outcomes of a two-year Technical Support Instrument (TSI) project funded by the European Commission project with a view to gathering insights into how the countries can strengthen the anticipatory governance capacity of their civil service. It draws upon international best practices and guidance and aims to institutionalise strategic foresight in the public sector.
This report examines factors influencing anticipatory governance efforts in each administration and offers an analysis of perceptions about the future from civil servants in each country. It reviews capacity in each country against best practices from OECD Member countries, facilitates peer-learning exchange and provides policy recommendations. It also provides guidance on the institutionalisation of strategic foresight structures and functions in public administrations, and proposes curricula for civil service capacity building and training, as well as guidance on the development and maintenance of communities of practice for strategic foresight. The assessment builds on previous OECD work on public governance, such as “Mobilising Evidence at the Centre of Government in Lithuania” (2021).
The recommended improvements offer an opportunity to address practical and structural challenges in adopting innovative and future-oriented approaches across each state administration. This report has been peer-reviewed by members of the network of the National Contact Points of the OECD Observatory of Public Sector Innovation.
The report was approved by the Public Governance Committee on 5 May 2025 and prepared for publication by the Secretariat.