2.1 Horizon scanning approach
The HS approach is a useful methodology to detect early signals that
imply likely future changes (Hines et al., 2018) . It can be used to
identify opportunities and threats (Kemp et al., 2020) and to describe
early signs of phenomena that might require changes in policies and
strategies (Sutherland et al., 2021). Therefore, it offers a useful tool
to anticipate emerging issues, opportunities, and threats (Hines et al.,
2018). The earlier applications of this method include uses in
businesses and commercial purposes (Doos et al., 2016; Stevens et al.,
1998). Recently, this approach has been used in a wide range of
disciplines and for multiple applications, including environmental
issues (Bengston, 2013; Kark et al., 2016; Pihl et al., 2021). Due to
its ability to predict future changes, it can be used to change
mindsets, create alternative options, and guide policy-making (Hines et
al., 2019). In the current research, we subdivided the HS process into
four stages, namely, (i) lesson collection, (ii) filtration, (iii)
categorizing, merging, and validation, and (iv) evaluation (Fig. 1).