Pardee launches online IFs program to widen access to long-term analysis 

The Pardee Institute for International Futures has launched Strategic Forecasting with International Futures (IFs), its first fully online microcredential program and a new pathway for people who want to use IFs to analyze long-term continuity and change. This five-course sequence translates into three professional badges through Credly. 

The self-paced program opened to learners on September 1 and will run for a six-month beta period. During this phase, the first course is offered at a reduced rate to users, including those from key stakeholder institutions, who will provide direct feedback on course structure, content, and pacing. 

For Pardee, the launch marks an important milestone for the program, which began development more than a year ago with early support from the University of Denver’s DU Forward initiative.  

The platform. 

IFs, Pardee’s open-source, integrated forecasting platform, helps users examine long-term trends, build scenarios by changing assumptions, and understand how changes in one system may affect others over time. For decades, institutions including the U.S. National Intelligence Council, the UN system, and the African Union have used IFs to structure analysis of possible longer-term development, geopolitical, and environmental futures. 

Strategic Forecasting with IFs responds to a practical challenge many IFs users face: Open-source access is not the same as meaningful access. While a tool with a proven track record, it is very large and complex to use. These online courses lower the barrier to using the model while also giving professionals credentials they can use for career advancement and upskilling. 

“The long-term future is important to understand for strategic decision-making across a range of public and private organizations,” said Jonathan Moyer, director of the Pardee Institute. “IFs provides an empirical assessment of the long view that helps contextualize short-term challenges and decision points. These online courses help a broader range of users understand how to deploy the model for their organization.” 

Learning to use the platform. 

Course 1, Introduction to International Futures, introduces users to the IFs platform, trend analysis, simple scenario creation, and data analysis. Course 2 lays the conceptual foundation for using IFs with care, including attention to the assumptions, structures, and theory that support IFs-based analysis. Courses 3 through 5 move more deeply into how the model is structured across connected human, social, and natural systems. 

Across the full program, learners will build practical skills to analyze long-term trends; compare scenarios under different assumptions; assess trade-offs across connected systems; communicate uncertainty and strategic implications; and use IFs outputs responsibly, with attention to assumptions, limits, and context. 

The program offers extensive content with 150 videos and 134 lessons, leveraging expertise from Pardee researchers, model developers, data analysts, and university partners in online learning, registration, digital media, marketing, and communications. 

Learning from early IFs learners. 

The beta period is central to Pardee’s rollout strategy. Learners can enroll now, while Pardee gathers feedback through course surveys, learning management system data, student testing, and structured conversations with institutional contacts. Those insights will help refine course structure, content, pacing, learner support, and the overall course journey before the formal launch in spring of 2027. 

As the beta period continues, Pardee will work with early adopters from government, think tank, private-sector, and international organization networks to strengthen the program and build a broader community of practice around IFs. 

Learn more about Strategic Forecasting with IFs and enroll as a beta tester.