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Episode 1

Futures and Public Policy in Asia

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Futures thinking helps governments cope with uncertainty, prepare for different policy challenges, and rehearse possible futures. The first episode of the Future Forward Webinar Series titled “Futures and Public Policy in Asia” was aired on 23rd February 2021. In this episode, we explored how futures is practiced in different policy contexts in Asia and discussed the unique and common challenges of futures in public policy in Asia.

Panelists

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Ms Susann Roth

Advisor and Chief of Knowledge Advisory Services, Center Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department, Asian Development Bank

Susann leads ADB’s knowledge management and innovation plan and heads ADB’s knowledge advisory service center. She developed ADB’s first futures and foresight program and she has designed ADB’s first technology innovation challenge. Before this role, Susann co-led the preparation of ADB’s new Operational Plan for Health. She also managed several ADB trust funds, which piloted innovative health sector interventions for regional health security and pandemic preparedness. Susann launched the first ADB health bond, developed a digital health flagship program and championed health impact assessment across sectors. Susann also led the ADB-UNDP-ESCAP partnership during the preparation of the SDGs. She joined ADB in 2009 as Social Development Specialist in Central and West Asia, where she worked on social development issues across all sectors.  

Susann holds a Medical Doctor degree and a PhD in medical science from the University of Heidelberg in Germany, and a Master of Public Health and Policy from the University of the Philippines.  She has been trained in transplant and general surgery, and emergency medicine in Germany and the US (Baylor College, Duke University, University of Washington and University of Heidelberg) and is board certified in emergency medicine. She also attended a fellowship program in dermatology and tropical medicine in the Philippines and joined postgraduate courses in adult medical education and didactics, which she applied to support the reform of Germany’s medical curriculum at the University of Heidelberg. She has worked in public and private sector before joining ADB, where she led transformation projects, and she served as Adjunct Professor at LKY School of Public Policy in Singapore from 2016-2018. The World Health Organization invited Susann to their external technical advisory group for innovation and digital health in 2019 for a term of two years. She is trained in futures strategic thinking and foresight techniques, and in change and knowledge management.

About Organisation: The Center Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department (SDCC) provides leadership, innovation, and knowledge sharing for ADB’s sector and thematic work.

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Ms Liana Tang

Deputy Director, Centre for Strategic Futures, Singapore

A Biologist by training, Liana has dabbled in many disciplines in her years in Public Service, ranging foresight, strategic planning, service development and policy-making. Domains include population, libraries, culture and heritage. Her myriad experiences have enriched her views and practice of foresight in government. She has served at the Centre for Strategic Futures for the past 5 years, but still learns every day to face new challenges in testing policy assumptions, innovating in futures communication and building a strong foresight community in the Singapore government.

About Organisation: The Centre for Strategic Futures was established in early 2009, as part of the Strategic Policy Office in the Public Service Division of the Prime Minister’s Office of The Government of Singapore. This situates it at the heart of government, with the ability to reach across agency stovepipes, and draw upon the existing networks and analysis in SPO. At the same time, the Centre operates very much like a think tank within government, with the freedom to act on issues of strategic importance even if they are not perceived to be immediately urgent.

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Mr Duleesha Kulasooriya

Executive Director, Centre for Edge Asia Pacific, Deloitte

Study the changing world. Get inspired. Talk to people. Build things. Contemplate navel. Create compelling models for a new world and understand why they matter. Connect across bridges to create uncommon partnerships.

Duleesha Kulasooriya is the Executive Director for Deloitte’s Center for the Edge, Asia Pacific – part of a global management research institute exploring the edges of business and technology. Over the past decade they have explored how the world is changing in very dramatic ways as a result of ever evolving digital infrastructure and liberalizing public policy, and its implications to us as individuals and institutions.

Duleesha has researched, written and spoken extensively about dynamic ecosystems, emerging business landscapes, rethinking the role of firm and individuals in the form of institutional innovation, the future of work, and about relevance of ‘edges’ such as the Maker Movement, the Sharing Economy, Transformative Technology and Burning Man.

Duleesha has an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, a BS in Engineering and a BA in Economics from Swarthmore College.

Duleesha was born in Sri Lanka, studied and lived in the US for nearly three decades. He and his wife recently relocated to Singapore with three exuberant boys, a cat that thinks it is a dog, and just adopted a shelter dog to add to their family.

Moderator

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Cheryl Chung

Programme Director, Executive Education Singapore Futures, LKY School of Public Policy

Cheryl is the Programme Director of the Executive Education department at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore.  

Before joining the School in 2015, Cheryl worked in the Singapore Government where she led futures projects across several ministry portfolios for 8 years. She entered the world of public policy futures as part of the pioneer team for the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s Futures Group. There, she led projects exploring the industry development potential of trends such as big data, and 3D-printing. After MTI, she moved to the Strategic Policy Office, under the Prime Minister’s Office, where she co-led the Emerging Strategic Issues Project v2.0 and led research work on the Evolving Role of the State. She also designed, developed, and delivered their in-house training programme, Futurecraft, focusing on foresight communication. Cheryl’s most recent ministry posting was to the Ministry of Transport where she helped to start the Ministry’s futures team and led the development of their policy framework for Autonomous Vehicles.

About Organisation: Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKY School) Executive Education caters to the needs of time-constrained working professionals who wish to strengthen their managerial and technical knowledge and skills. The school is committed to supporting individual’s lifelong learning journey through a broad array of open-enrolment programmes at different stages of their career.

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