Emerging issues analysis

{{Short description|Alterarive Foresight Trends Analysis perspective}}

Emerging issues analysis (sometimes capitalized as Emerging Issues Analysis, and abbreviated as EIA) is a term used in futures studies and strategic planning, to describe the process of identifying and studying issues that have not been influential or important in the past, but that might be influential in the future.{{cite web|url=http://www.audiencedialogue.net/gloss-fut.html|title = Glossary of futures studies terms|accessdate = June 28, 2014|publisher = Audience Dialogue}}{{cite web|url=http://www.dlg.nsw.gov.au/dlg/dlghome/documents/information/Six%20pillars%20-%20futures%20thinking%20for%20transforming%20Foresight%20vol%2010%20issue%201%202008.pdf |title=Six pillars: futures thinking for transforming |last=Inayatullah |first=Sohail |journal=Foresight |doi=10.1108/14636680810855991 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140621050533/http://www.dlg.nsw.gov.au/dlg/dlghome/documents/information/Six%20pillars%20-%20futures%20thinking%20for%20transforming%20Foresight%20vol%2010%20issue%201%202008.pdf |archivedate=2014-06-21 }}{{cite web|url=http://158.132.155.107/posh97/private/research/methods-delphi/LANG.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706092452/http://158.132.155.107/posh97/private/research/methods-delphi/LANG.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 6, 2017 |title=An Overview of Four Futures Methodologies |last=Lang |first=Trudi |accessdate=June 28, 2014 }} Since the issues identified in EIA are new, we cannot rely on their history to predict how they will influence the future. This distinguishes EIA from trend analysis. Trend analysis is used for issues where we have historical data that can be used to identify a trend, that can then be extrapolated to the future.{{cite web|url = http://www.futures.hawaii.edu/publications/futures-theories-methods/TrendVsEIA2009.pdf|title = Trend Analysis vs Emerging Issues Analysis|last = Dator|first = Jim|date = July 2009|accessdate = June 28, 2014|publisher = Hawaii Research Center for Futures Studies|archive-date = November 23, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151123051043/http://www.futures.hawaii.edu/publications/futures-theories-methods/TrendVsEIA2009.pdf|url-status = dead}}