Topics: lifestyles, nutrition, communications, retail

Sheila, lead consultant at Research for Tomorrow, Today, is a strategic futures research consultant with 20 years experience helping clients identify and assess the implications arising from short and long term changes in the business environment. She works with clients to help them to identify trends and changes that are most relevant to their business, to evaluate and prioritise the opportunities and impacts arising from those changes and to select options and strategies for meeting those opportunities in the marketplace, or addressing the issues arising. As a facilitator with futurefocus@dti, she has run a number of workshops with different groups.

Sheila also specialises in helping clients understand the impacts, constraints and potential of 'soft' changes - social change and changing values and attitudes - likely to affect their markets or for example the acceptance and application of new technologies. Earlier in her career, Sheila was involved in setting up and running one of the first environmental scanning services for major European clients as well as helping to develop a strategic technology monitoring programme.

Sheila regularly speaks at conferences and management training sessions - most recently at PREST, on the International Foresight Training Programme, on the application of social foresight and at Terra Future on the potential of location based services for an ageing population. She is a regular contributor on Culture Shock for the BBC World Service, speaks regularly on TV and radio on behalf of the National Autistic Society and writes a weekly trends column for the Shaping Tomorrow eNewlsetter.

Her clients in the public, private and voluntary sectors, regional and central government departments include Glaxo Smith Kline, BRE, BMW, Carbon Trust, Abbey, ODPM, Forfas, London Development Agency, Telia, Learning and Skills Councils CSVs RSVP, and Enable Ireland.

Projects include:

• Scoping workshop for Foresight on mental capacity - design and facilitation of a one day workshop with 50+ senior academics and specialists involving a team of 4 facilitators
• The signing channel - exploring the potential for a new channel to meet the needs of the deaf community
• Transport futures and clever city technology - workshop toexplore the impact of new technologies in achieving effective, greener transport systems
• Trends affecting the future of healthcare - presentation and workshop to senior executives of major pharmaceutical company
• The future of local government and governance - review of the trends affecting communities in 2020 and the implications for possible models of local governance and service delivery
  

Future cities a series of workshops including specialist speakers on trends and issues affecting long term economic strategy for a regional development agency

Changing consumer needs for mobility - scenario project examining European consumer lifestyles in 2010, changing demand and needs for mobility and new solutions and services

• Financial futures for consumers 2012 - one-day workshop based scenario project for leading UK consumer organisation involving 50 industry and regulatory experts looking at changing consumer needs, especially among the less well off.
• The attractive city - cities in 2020 and the opportunities for business and the public sector arising from the impact of new technologies
• Communications and connectivity - scenarios to examinehow business and consumers will adapt to a highly connected world