The Future Panel officially launched its report at the Norwegian Parliamenton 13 May 2025. We will update this page as soon as possible.
Website
FRAMTIDSPANELET
Commissioning
A coalition of seven civil society organisations : Save the Children, Norwegian Church Aid, LNU - The Norwegian Children and Youth Council, Caritas Norway, WWF World Wildlife Fund, Langsikt (think tank forlong-term policy) and the Future in our Hands.
Remit
Norway is one of the world's richest countries. How can we use our wealth for the good of the world, ourselves, and future generations?
- What considerations and values should guide our choices?
- Which problems in the world does Norway have particularly good reasons to help solve?
- How should the Government Pension Fund be used now and in the future?
Commitment to respond
The Assembly has no formal political influence. The commissioning CSOs have committed to respond to the recommendations made by the Assembly, as well as lobby for the uptake of recommendations by the government and other decision makers. The aim of the panel is to initiate a public conversation about what Norway should do with its wealth.
Duration
January to April 2025, with an additional digital session in August 2025
Governance
The Secretariat, led by SoCentral and We Do Democracy, was responsible for design and delivery. A Stakeholder Advisory Board made up of people with diverse backgrounds and experience ensured the process was transparent, fair, and balanced, providing input on the framing of the mandate and assisting in the selection and quality assurance of an Expert Group. The Expert Group had knowledge and experience of the topics the assembly was working on helped scope the learning phase and identify speakers. A Deliberative Advisory Board was made up of internationally recognized experts in deliberative democracy to help safeguard the integrity and quality of the process.
Delivery bodies
SoCentral and We Do Democracy
Participant recruitment
The Assembly was recruiting using a two-stage democratic lottery. 40,000 invitations were sent out by SMS and Digipost to randomly selected residents over the age of 18. A total of 3,785 people registered their interest. In addition, 31 people between the ages of 16-18 put themselves forward through selected schools. The final Assembly consisted of 66 members selected by sex, age, region, education level and political position (based on voting results in 2021). Travel, food and accommodation for the two physical meetings was covered by the organisors.
Structure
The Assembly combined both in-person and online meetings. Digital meetings were only a few hours on one day whereas the two in-person meetings (second and fourth meetings) were full weekends. The sixth meeting was open to both the media and the public so that the Assembly could get feedback on its work so far. Early meetings focused on learning on particular themes: Norway’s role in the world and ethical values; the Oil Fund; global challenges and economic opportunities. Sessions on identifying dilemmas and future visioning helped members to develop and review recommendations.
Facilitation
Lead facilitator with floating facilitation between tables. Digital meetings had a facilitator for each group, who tried to keep as much in the background as possible so that the groups themselves took charge of the culture and discussions. During physical meetings, floating facilitators would sit briefly at tables to inform groups on the task and timing without taking a lead of the discussions. On a few occasions the facilitators helped the participants get back on track with some discussions.
Evidencebase
The Expert Group ensured that the Assembly was provided with research-based knowledge, helped identify topics and speakers, and was available to answer questions during the meetings. Assembly members received written material and presentations from leading subject experts in economics, climate, ethics,global health, and geopolitics. All presentations are available on the Assembly’s website. They also received extra material based on their expressed needs throughout the process. Members had input from the audience during the open session.
Developing recommendations
Members developed initial recommendations in small groups, informed by a range of exercises including a focus on value mapping, dilemmas (where different interests and considerations are pitted against each other), disagreement (to surface different positions amongst members), stakeholder assessments and future scenario building. An editorial group was formed to work on recommendations between sessions. An open meeting allowed external feedback on emerging recommendations and identification of blind spots. As recommendations were being finalized a digital assessment round allowed members to indicate whether proposals were “good as is,” “needs elaboration” or “should be cut” before members decided on the final recommendations through an anonymous voting process. They assessed the text based on whether they could live with it and what needed to be changed.
Final report
The final report contains 19 recommendations for how Norway can use its wealth for the best of the world, ourselves and future generations. The report was presented to the Norwegian Parliament on 13 May 2025.
Officialresponse
The response of the commissioning CSOs and other actors (including government and parliament) is not yet available.
Oversight of official response
In August2025, the panel will reflect on the feedback they have received on the recommendations and issue a joint statement to be addressed to all political parties in the Norwegian Parliament.
Communication
The communication strategy aimed to build trust in the process and initiate a broad national conversation about how Norway uses its sovereign wealth and that citizens have a right to influence long-term decisions.
Overall capacity for communication was limited. The secretariat supported participants in becoming effective ambassadors, including through media training, and several members went on to present the work across the country, and will keep on doing this until the national election in September.
However, lack of dedicated resources and fragmented ownership among the commissioning organizations reduced the reach and consistency of the messaging. Media showed more interest in the lottery mechanism than in the ethical and political dilemmas raised by the panel. The timing of the report’s release also made it harder to secure deeper debate coverage.
Impact
The impact of the Assembly is still unfolding. It has received both national and international media attention, particularly the launch of the Assembly and the presentation of recommendations at the Norwegian Parliament. The Assembly has informed the #MyOilFund campaign on social media that is calling for greater democratic control, clearer ethical boundaries, and a more active role in addressing global crises. Members of the Assembly met with representatives of the Finance Committee in June 2025, with representatives from the Labour Party, the Conservative Party and Liberal Democrats and Green Party participating and commenting on the recommendations.
Evaluation
Independent evaluations are underway but are not yet available.
Budget
The budget has not yet been made public.
Otherresources
KNOCA Learning Call on the Norwegian Future Panel
