At Futures4Europe, we had the pleasure of chatting with Petranka Malcheva, Policy Lead for Health, Long Term Thinking and Prevention at the Office of the Future Generations Commissioner of Wales. Her mission is to reduce health inequalities in Wales and to shift the focus from treatment to prevention guided by Wales’ pioneering Futures Generations Act. Petranka also leads the work on long-term thinking, supporting Wales’ public sector organisations to increase capabilities, skills and balancing short-term urgent issues without compromising the well-being of people living in the future.
Petranka will address the role of “Collective Intelligence” in Foresight for Research and Innovation Policy at the upcoming Futures4Europe Conference 2025, held in Vienna on the 15-16 May 2025.
What is the Future Generations Act and how do you apply it in your daily work?
The Futures Generations Act places a legislative duty on all devolved public sector organisations in Wales, requiring them to carry out sustainable development. The legislation sets a vision for Wales in the form of seven well-being goals, including a Prosperous Wales, Resilient Wales, Thriving Welsh Language, and Globally Responsible Wales.
To help us measure if we are achieving the seven well-being goals, the Welsh Government has set 50 National Indicators and 16 milestones. Interestingly, none of them use GDP as a measure of well-being. Instead, our national indicators focus on aspects like healthy habits, access to housing, and other community-shaping elements. Additionally, we have five ways of working to help us achieve this vision: long term thinking, prevention, integration, collaboration, and involvement of those affected by decisions.
It is part of Public Bodies’ duty in Wales to take account of these ways of working when making any decision, which may impact future generations. Progress is tracked through the annual Wellbeing report, with indicators reviewed every three years.
Wales is the only country in the world with a Future Generations Act. Why do you think this is and how do you think other countries can be persuaded to follow suit?
Wales has always had a strong commitment to sustainability and forward-thinking governance. Being a small nation, it is agile enough to effectively pilot innovative approaches for change. Having benefited from a period of relative political continuity, it has laid the groundwork for long term planning, which can be challenging in many countries due to the short-term nature of political cycles. A perfect storm of events, including increasing concerns about environmental protections and spending constraints, led to the national ‘Wales We Want’ conversation, and, ultimately, to the Well-Being of Future Generations Act. There has been a strong interest in this model, and we try to collaborate with countries such as Ireland and Scotland, and even as far as India, who work towards drafting their own future generation bills. There is also the Network of Institutions and leaders for Future Generations (NIFG), which is a cross-country collaboration. It includes representat ives and leaders from different countries that are involved in trying to pass future generation bills.
Wales faces some uncommon challenges like the complexity of devolution, with some powers and areas sitting with the Welsh Government, while others remain reserved to the UK Government. We also face issues common to most countries, such as short-term political cycles and short-term budgets. Because Wales is a small country, it often faces challenges when it comes to skills to address these bigger issues. But being small is also a benefit, for example when it comes to collaboration. There is a lot of ambition to lead the way, as people here feel very strongly about what is happening in their country.
How do you implement futures thinking when taking into account the wellbeing of young people in Wales?
While the Act is about intergenerational justice, it is also about addressing a democratic deficit that arises from decision-making today impacting generations tomorrow. These future generations are not yet born, but will experience the long term impacts of our decisions later on. We therefore need to provide a voice for them not only by incorporating their perspective, but also ensuring that there is a chair at the table for them.
What methods do you use to imagine a voice for the people who are not yet born?
There are many foresight techniques and creative methodologies we can use. The key is to involve intergenerational, diverse, and cultural perspectives, especially from younger generations. In one of our projects, we asked: ‘How will climate change impact inequalities for future generations?’ We worked with foresight practitioners and literature professors specialising in storytelling and sci-fi, using techniques that enabled people to imagine characters from the future and bring them to life. This led to a story book and a practical methodology.
The most important part is sparking people’s imagination, especially in the public sector. Storytelling connects on a deeper level - if data and evidence alone had worked, we would have solved things like climate change by now. Storytelling enables you to imagine your family, your community in the future; it becomes real. I also find that starting from a shared hope, such as wanting our children to lead healthier and fuller lives, a common ground is created, leading to more meaningful and positive conversations.
If you look 30 years into the future, what do you think will be the most pressing issue for young people to tackle and how can it be addressed now?
Many issues today - from climate change, ageing population, civic disengagement, collapsing food systems, health crises, are already shaping the next 30 years. How we prioritise these aspects depends on who you ask, but what’s crucial is recognising their interconnection. Climate change, for example, impacts food security, health, and beyond. Separating them in silos prevents us from seeing them as all part of a collective system. The good news is that the future is not fixed; how we respond to these megatrends is still within our control. We are shaping the future right now and that uncertainty can not only be a risk, but also an opportunity - and that can be empowering.
Looking into what we can do now, what projects are you working on today that build towards this mission?
We’re currently working on the Future Generations Report, which is published every five years. It will assess how public bodies in Wales are progressing with the goals of the Well-being of Future Generations Act and offer recommendations for moving forward. The report will highlight key learnings, ongoing challenges, and areas where we believe more action is needed. It’s set to be released in late April. As part of this work, we’re also developing training sessions and school modules on futures thinking and foresight to support more people in Wales in building long-term capacity.