Project Overview

Future iQ is working in collaboration with researchers at the University of Minnesota to explore the future of U.S. Midwest agriculture, in particular the sustainable intensification of Midwest agriculture. This project is grant-funded by the University of Minnesota. These studies will be conducted through participatory scenarios, involving key stakeholders. The project will explore the notion that participatory scenario construction is a creative and humanistic activity that integrates and activates multiple ways of knowing, thereby spurring innovation and cooperation. Participatory scenario construction activity will be carried out as a collaboration of the University of Minnesota, The Nature Conservancy and Future iQ. Anticipated outcomes include a more in depth understanding of plausible futures for U.S. Midwest agriculture and how the role of these narratives promote cooperation and innovation in the industry, as well as the development of a broad vision and strategic plan for a new agricultural bioeconomy in the Midwest.