Frozen Futures: Exploring the potential of scenario planning techniques for thinking and talking about digital divides in Arctic contexts
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This capstone examines the use of scenario planning methodology as an alternative way for
thinking and talking about Arctic digital divides, specifically in a Canadian telecommunications
context. Despite an abundance of research into digital divides and decades of attempts to close
the gap, the divide persists. Exploratory in nature, this study uses a mixed-methods approach
combining content analysis methods within a future-focussed scenario planning framework.
Computer-assisted content analysis was conducted on publicly-available transcripts from a
CRTC hearing held in Whitehorse, Yukon, to create a dataset of trends and influences of key
importance from the hearing. This dataset of “driving forces” was then run through a scenario
planning exercise to see if anything can be deduced about the value of the methodology in the
context of Arctic digital divides. Results identified that scenario planning was particularly adept
at handling a range of complex ideas and uncertainty in a systematic way. However, blind spots
were identified based on participants’ own experiences and biases. This led to the
recommendation that scenario planning should not be used in isolation, but that it could provide
value as a secondary resource in decision making and policy guidance. This study walks the line
between traditional and creative research approaches, highlighting the underestimated value of
participants’ lived realities, interpretations, and imaginations in problem solving complex issues.
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http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_1843
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en