What will 2037 look like for think tanks?

Our team recently ran a joint foresight exercise with our sister agency, Soapbox who are based in the UK.

The premise was simple: two teams imagining the year 2037 from very different cultural and political contexts. We weren’t trying to predict the future, rather we were trying to test our assumptions.

Both agencies work primarily with think tanks, research institutes and public-interest organisations. So instead of focusing on “the future of creative”, we asked more fundamental questions:

• Who will hold trust?
• How will ideas travel?
• What happens if institutions weaken?
• What happens if regulation tightens?
• What role do organisations like those we support play in those worlds?

What emerged from our discussions wasn’t a neat set of predictions, but a set of tensions:

1. Trust becomes harder to earn

Across both teams, trust came up repeatedly.

In some imagined futures, regulation expands and communications teams operate under increasing scrutiny. In others, institutions lose authority and alternative ecosystems emerge — decentralised ones that are resistant and harder to monitor.

Ultimately, in both versions, trust becomes fragile.

For think tanks, that has implications well beyond branding. It affects how expertise is signalled, how evidence is presented, and how accessible organisations feel:

• Clarity becomes increasingly strategic
• Transparency becomes protective and non-negotiable
• Coherence becomes visible.

These aren’t aesthetic choices — they’re fundamental institutional ones.

2. The “human premium” returns

Another pattern that surfaced — particularly in technology-heavy futures — was a renewed value placed on human presence.

As automated content scales, audiences look more carefully for signals of authenticity: named experts, clear voices, visible accountability.

For research organisations, this raises practical questions:

• Are your experts easy to find and understand — and do they express clear opinions in their own distinctive voices?
• Does your digital presence feel considered, or procedural?
• Do your outputs make space for interpretation and dialogue, not just publication?

In some of our scenarios, the most trusted organisations weren’t the loudest. They were the clearest — and the most human.

3. Structure matters more under pressure

In more constrained futures, communications teams spend more time navigating compliance and governance. In more chaotic futures, they spend more time defending legitimacy.

In both cases, structured systems matter, specifically:

• Clear information architecture
• Strong editorial governance
• Accessible digital platforms
• Thoughtful use of metadata and hierarchy.

These are often seen as operational details. But in unstable contexts, they become essential foundations.

We see this already in our work: think tanks that invest in structured digital ecosystems are better placed to respond quickly, maintain credibility and adapt to shifting environments.

4. Agencies evolve too

The exercise also prompted reflection on our own role as agencies.

In volatile futures, agencies aren’t simply producing outputs. They’re helping organisations navigate complexity: testing assumptions, mapping risks and identifying blind spots.

That kind of work starts long before design or development — it begins with asking better questions. That’s why Soapbox and Sociopúblico are investing in deeper client services and strategic capacity: building long-term, thoughtful partnerships while helping think tanks navigate changes in technology: from AI training to its implications for governance, workflows and organisational models.

The real value of the exercise came from the comparison. Seeing where similar concerns surfaced in very different contexts — and where they diverged — helped sharpen our thinking.

What this means for think tanks now

The year 2037 may look very different from today. But the capabilities that surfaced across all our imagined futures are ones that matter already:

• Clear articulation of expertise
• Accessible, structured digital systems
• Human-centred communication
• Visible institutional coherence
• Governance that supports — rather than restricts — clarity

Foresight exercises like this aren’t about prediction, they’re about preparation. And for think tanks working in complex political environments, investing in clarity and trust-building now is one of the most future-facing things you can do.

If you’d like to explore how resilient your organisation’s communications systems are — or run a structured foresight workshop with your team — we’d be glad to talk.