A powerful method for communicating and examining uncertainty, scenario planning has come to the fore in discussions on how to address COVID-19. As scenario planners continue to map the potential consequences of COVID-19, they are finding much in common with risk managers, who use past data to identify and forecast external threats. In our top post this month, Steven Gale suggests that it’s time for scenario planners and risk managers to align and join forces to produce a single foresight capability.

Cross-regional collaboration among young professionals and youth land rights were the spotlights of our second and third top posts this month. Leah Emanuel highlights EcoPeace Middle East’s Water Diplomacy Training for Young Professionals, a program aimed at fostering connections and collaboration between young professionals across Israel, Jordan, and Palestine over the protection of shared environmental resources. Tizai Mauto writes that securing youth land rights is key to revolutionizing Africa’s agriculture sector and, if properly executed, the continent’s millions of youth could have a stake in growing agricultural productivity, harnessing food security, and reducing poverty.  

U.S. climate policies and elections were features of our fourth and fifth top posts this month. Mara Dolan and Jessica Olson discuss findings from recent research that underscores the importance of centering gender and women’s rights in U.S. climate policy. In our final top post, Richard Cincotta provides an analysis of education and urbanization transitions that influenced the 2020 U.S. election and how they may be a signal for future elections.

1. It’s Time for Scenario Planners and Enterprise Risk Managers to Join Forces by Steven Gale
2. Collaborating Across Borders: Young Professionals in the Middle East Tackle Region’s Water Issues by Leah Emanuel
3. Why Securing Youth Land Rights Matter for Agriculture-Led Growth in Africa by Tizai Mauto
4. Integrate Gender When Designing Climate Policy by Mara Dolan & Jessica Olson
5. A Tale of Two Transitions: Education, Urbanization, and the U.S. Presidential Election by Richard Cincotta