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| Future Problem Solvers | |
|---|---|
| Name | Future Problem Solvers |
| Abbreviation | FPS |
| Formation | 1974 |
| Type | Nonprofit |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Services | Academic competitions, youth development |
Future Problem Solvers is an international program founded in 1974 that engages students in creative problem solving, strategic foresight, and scenario analysis. It connects youth with curricula and competitions that emphasize critical thinking and collaborative innovation across schools, districts, and national organizations. The program operates within networks of educational institutions, nonprofit associations, and international partners, hosting events that attract participants from diverse regions and academic backgrounds.
Future Problem Solvers emerged in the context of 1970s educational reform alongside initiatives like Project Head Start, Council for Basic Education, Carnegie Corporation of New York, National Science Foundation, and Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Early development involved collaboration with local school districts, community colleges, and university researchers at institutions such as University of Michigan, Columbia University, Stanford University, Harvard University, and University of Chicago. Expansion through the 1980s and 1990s intersected with youth organizations including 4-H, Boy Scouts of America, Girl Scouts of the USA, Junior Achievement, and Rotary International, while competitions drew participation from schools linked to systems like New York City Department of Education, Los Angeles Unified School District, and Chicago Public Schools. International outreach later connected programs with partners in countries represented by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, European Union, Commonwealth of Nations, and Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Funding and endorsement sources have included foundations such as Ford Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Annenberg Foundation, Gates Foundation, and private donors associated with Carnegie Mellon University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The organizational model involves national affiliates, state chapters, school coordinators, and volunteer advisors coordinated with administrative frameworks similar to American Association of School Administrators, National School Boards Association, Council of Chief State School Officers, National Association of Secondary School Principals, and Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Governance typically features boards of directors and advisory councils with leaders drawn from institutions like Harvard Graduate School of Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University, University of California, Berkeley, and The Ohio State University. Program delivery is supported by partnerships with nonprofits such as Junior Achievement USA, YMCA, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Center for Creative Leadership, and Institute of Play. Volunteer roles often mirror structures found in Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, Teach For America, National Education Association, and American Federation of Teachers.
Core activities include state and national competitions, scenario writing, future wheel exercises, and international symposiums that resemble events hosted by World Economic Forum, World Science Festival, International Mathematical Olympiad, Intel Science Talent Search, and FIRST Robotics Competition. Tournaments follow multi-tier formats like those of National Spelling Bee, Scripps National Spelling Bee, International Chemistry Olympiad, Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, and Model United Nations. Specialized tracks reference methodologies used in Scenario Planning initiatives by Royal Dutch Shell and RAND Corporation, and draw judges from academic conferences such as American Educational Research Association, Association for Educational Communications and Technology, and International Society for Technology in Education.
Instructional approaches integrate creative problem solving frameworks linked to work by Alex Osborn, Sidney Parnes, Edward de Bono, Peter Senge, and Daniel Kahneman. Training modules employ techniques found in publications from Harvard Business School, MIT Sloan School of Management, Stanford Graduate School of Business, INSEAD, and London Business School, and use pedagogy promoted by Benjamin Bloom, Jerome Bruner, John Dewey, Lev Vygotsky, and Maria Montessori. Educator resources align with standards from Common Core State Standards Initiative, International Baccalaureate, Advanced Placement Program, Next Generation Science Standards, and ISTE Standards and incorporate tools inspired by IDEO, Design Council, MindLab, and Creative Problem Solving Institute.
Evaluations cite improvements in skills comparable to outcomes reported by programs like Debate (high school activity), Future Farmers of America, SkillsUSA, Science Olympiad, and MathCounts. Alumni tracking and case studies reference career trajectories into sectors represented by United Nations, World Bank, Google, Microsoft, NASA, IBM, Apple Inc., Goldman Sachs, McKinsey & Company, Boeing, and Pfizer. Research collaborations with universities such as University of Pennsylvania, Duke University, University of Texas at Austin, University of Washington, and Northwestern University have examined impacts on entrepreneurship, leadership, and civic engagement similar to findings tied to Junior Achievement evaluations.
Alumni have included individuals who later engaged with institutions and events such as United States Congress, White House, Supreme Court of the United States, European Parliament, Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, MacArthur Fellowship, Olympic Games, TED Conference, SXSW, World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, and companies like Amazon (company), Facebook, SpaceX, Tesla, Inc., and Netflix. Achievements by participants have mirrored successes seen in Intel Science Talent Search finalists, Regeneron Science Talent Search awardees, Rhodes Scholarship, Fulbright Program, Marshall Scholarship, and Gates Cambridge Scholarship recipients. The program’s competitive teams have won awards at national and international levels analogous to honors in Model United Nations and International Science Olympiads.