Pre-conference Session, 6 May 2026: Leadership Forum
Leadership Forum invites leaders in advancement to come together and explore the future of advancement through a futures thinking and foresight workshop. This Forum will invite leaders to consider the emerging trends and forces that can influence or impact educational institutions and their advancement strategies. It considers how technological, economic, political, social and structural forces have caused shifts in people’s approaches towards advancement. Leaders will be introduced to a series of futures tools to identify driving forces that influence advancement and will be taken through tools in scenario and strategic planning to identify strategies to build short and long term plans for their institution’s advancement.
At the end of the session, participants will:
- Consider critically and determine driving forces and factors that influence advancement initiatives through futures thinking
- Construct scenarios that can be used to develop and implement initiatives and strategies to develop advancement in their institutions
- Network and exchange ideas in experiences and strategies in advancement with other leaders
Lead Facilitator
Cheryl Chung
Cheryl Chung is the Founder and CEO of Tent Futures, a strategic foresight research, advisory and training practice focused on building long-term public good. Cheryl is concurrently the Senior Director, Insights and Strategy, at The Majurity Trust, a philanthropic organisation that works with donors and social impact partners to build a thriving and sustainable community for all in Singapore.
A seasoned public sector futurist, Cheryl has two decades of experience working with senior decision makers in Singapore and the region to identify trends, understand policy implications, create alternative scenarios and develop strategies to prepare for the future. She is an experienced and sought-after practitioner, educator, coach and speaker across the public, private, people and academic sectors.
Cheryl was most recently the Head of Singapore for Kantar Public, a specialist research, evidence and advisory business focussed on the public realm. She joined Kantar Public from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy where she led strategic planning and government relations, and then the Programme Director for Executive Education Singapore Futures, overseeing the Singapore and Open Enrolment markets, as well as establishing the School’s Futures training and consulting practice.
She spent the majority of her career in the Singapore Government, working across policy, strategy, and futurist roles in various economic and infrastructure agencies, including the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Centre for Strategic Futures (under the Prime Minister’s Office), and the Ministry of Transport.
6 May 2026
Room: Redlands, L5
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM UTC +10
Registrations
CASE Registration Desk, L5 Foyer
9:00 AM - 9:15 AM UTC +10
Welcome and Introduction
Redlands, L5
9:15 AM – 10:30 AM UTC +10
Introduction to Futures Thinking
In this opening module, advancement leaders are introduced to the fundamentals of strategic foresight and why it matters in today’s increasingly complex and uncertain world. Through concepts like VUCA, BANI, and the Futures Cone, participants explore how to distinguish between different types of futures, and begin to shift from reactive planning to anticipatory leadership. This segment sets the tone for the day, grounding participants in a shared language and mindset for navigating long-term change in education and advancement.
- Introduction to Futures Thinking
- Futures Tools and Driving Forces
Redlands, L5
10:30 AM – 11:00 AM UTC+10
Refreshment Break
Foyer, L5
11:00 AM – 12:30 PM UTC+10
Exploring the Future
This module invites participants to scan the horizon for emerging signals and trends shaping the future of advancement, alumni engagement, and institutional reputation. Using structured frameworks like STEEP (Social, Technological, Economic, Environmental, Political), they explore macro forces and contextual shifts impacting donor expectations and institutional trust. This session cultivates pattern recognition and insight synthesis—key capabilities for advancing strategy in times of change—and generates a shared intelligence base to inform future planning.
- Trend Identification and Analysis
Redlands, L5
12:30 PM – 1:30 PM UTC+10
Networking Lunch
Foyer, L5
1:30 PM – 3:00 PM UTC+10
Mapping the Future
Advancement leaders engage with the Futures Triangle to map tensions that influence the trajectory of institutional giving and engagement. Through the Futures Triangle, participants begin to see their operating environment as a dynamic system. This exercise strengthens strategic insight by revealing assumptions, surfacing barriers to innovation, and identifying levers for shaping preferred futures for advancement work.
- Futures Triangle
Redlands, L5
3:00 PM – 3:30 PM UTC+10
Refreshment Break
Foyer, L5
3:30 PM – 4:30 PM UTC+10
Stakeholders of the Future
The final module focuses on crafting donor archetypes for the futures we might encounter. Drawing on scenario contexts developed earlier in the day, participants use persona-building techniques to design profiles of future donors—exploring how motivations, values, behaviors, and trust might evolve. These future personas, such as the “AI-Augmented Micro-Giver” or the “Values-Led Legacy Builder,” provide advancement leaders with a fresh lens to reimagine stewardship, engagement, and storytelling strategies that resonate across emerging futures.
- Building archetypes
- Stakeholder analysis and management
Redlands, L5
4:30 PM – 5:00 PM UTC+10
Sharing and Closing
Redlands, L5
5:00 PM UTC+10
Programme Conclude
6:00 PM UTC+10
Welcome Reception
Ballroom Foyer, L5