The Institute's mission is to facilitate knowledge about potential futures and it hosts various events during the year and collaborate on others, in Denmark and abroad.
The Institute's products include seminars, analyses, reports, courses, newsletters, books, and the magazine FARSIGHT.
The Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies was founded in 1969 by Professor Thorkil Kristensen, a member of the Club of Rome who had previously been the Danish Minister of Finance and later the OECD Secretary-General.
During this period, the Institute published the book The Dream Society, which became an international bestseller and was translated to several languages.
From 2000 to 2013, the international outlook was expanded under the leadership of first Johan Peter Paludan and later Axel Olesen, and an especially Nordic focus characterised the circle of members and projects.