Port System Authority of the Eastern Adriatic Sea (Ports of Trieste and Monfalcone)—Government Use of Strategic Foresight

The Port System Authority of the Eastern Adriatic Sea—Ports of Trieste and Monfalcone—is an intermodal (rail and road) and international hub linking land-sea transportation within a dense network of European markets. This organization represents a non-economic public body with administrative, budgetary, and financial autonomy, subject to the supervision of the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport. With global challenges occurring at unprecedented speed, the Port System Authority of the Eastern Adriatic Sea must deal with upheavals in its fundamental policies and procedures. Disruptions, coming from primarily outside the organization, are impacting how best to engage stakeholders, digitize data, and manage sustainable transformation. This case study describes a solution for success that includes the Port System Authority’s use of futures thinking through anticipatory governance. The three phases of this process include preparatory foresight, execution foresight, and strategic foresight. Organizational policies are then described which were developed to help institutionalize efforts and sustain success.