These are the prompts used to gather information about homelessness and to develop a Delphi Method study to research causes and possible interventions (locally). This is part of our Regenerative AI project; recreate as needed, when needed, with the GenAI engines available to you at that time. (Reprinted with permission from authors at NonprofitPlan.org and some adaptation here.)
Select GenAI results as of April 2024 of Delphi Research on Homelessness (from ChatGPT 4.0, Gemini, Claude, and Copilot) are available in this pdf document.
We have a new blog post in IPZine about trying to control healthcare costs by taking a new twist on the linkage in BIG phara to patent protection. Check that out this article on delinkage of intellectual property protection.
Scenarios that really stand out, including compounding effects.
One that always is front-and-center is the out-of-control escalation of healthcare costs in the US, now up to 18% of GDP. In an Nov 20 2019 blog over at IPZine there’s discussion of “delinkage” related to pharma patents that has some potential for taming the out-of-control healthcare costs. Included in that blog post is a discussion of how long it will take before healthcare costs escalate from 18% of GDP (approx. $3.6T of the $20T GDP) to 50% of GDP, and even 100% of GDP?
Here is some
of the math. You can do your own figures. Assume that Healthcare costs increase
by 10% per year as they have for decades (even though that rate is lower
currently). Say that GDP growth is 2.5% and inflation is 2% (real GDP growth is
=+0.5%). How many years before all healthcare costs in the US reach 25%, 50%,
75% and even 100% of the US GDP!???
Year
Description (+10%)
Targe%GDP
# of Years
2025
Years til % of GDP
25%
4.5
2034
Years til % of GDP
50%
14.1
2040
Years til % of GDP
75%
19.7
2044
Years til % of GDP
100%
23.7
That’s
right, with 4 or 5 years, the total healthcare costs of the US could be 25% of
GDP. In 14 years it could be 50%, and in 20 years it could represent 75% of
GDP. If this doesn’t scare you into taking some actions, then you obviously don’t
understand the magnitude of the problem! This was the problem that we faced for
decades when Healthcare costs were increasing at 10% or more each year.
Okay, so
healthcare costs are lower now since the Great Recession; let’s say they may
have dropped to 5% to 7.5 increase per year (2 to 3 times CPI inflation).
At 5%
healthcare inflation:
Year
Description (+5%)
Targe%GDP
# of Years
2033
Years til % of GDP
25%
13.3
2061
Years til % of GDP
50%
41.4
2078
Years til % of GDP
75%
57.8
2089
Years til % of GDP
100%
69.4
Note that it
is no longer 4 or 5 years to reach 25% of US GDP, it takes more like 13 years.
It takes 40 years to reach about 50% of GDP.
When you
consider that the US spends 4
times what the rest of the world spends on healthcare (about $10k) and more
than twice what the typical developed country spends… For outcomes that are no
better… Some place in here we need to rethink.
Hall and Knab (2012) outlined 10 other items besides healthcare costs that were non-sustainable trends/practices that appeared to have compounding and accelerating forces at play. The (US) Federal deficit is one. Each of those scenarios loom as large or larger today than back in 2012.
Hall, E., & Knab, E.F. (2012,
July). Social irresponsibility provides opportunity for the win-win-win of
Sustainable Leadership. In C. A. Lentz (Ed.), The Refractive Thinker: Vol. 7. Social responsibility (pp.
197-220). Las Vegas, NV: The Lentz Leadership Institute. (Available from www.RefractiveThinker.com,
ISBN: 978-0-9840054-2-0)
Jordan & Hall published an article in the Defense Sector edition (2016, Edition X) of the Refractive Thinker related to augmenting the DoD procurement process with Delphi team planning (Jordan & Hall, 2016). Here is the summary.
Delphi Method, or Delphi Technique, is an established method for bringing teams of informed panelists, or experts, together to analyze complex and interrelated problems. Organizations use group decision-making techniques to make sound plans, plans that gain support for the decisions made and build consensus. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) requires the use of Integrated Product Teams (IPTs) to ensure all disciplines are well represented in acquisition decisions. IPT planning process has several limitations, including the biases and inefficiencies associated with face-to-face meetings. The IPT process could be augmented to include Delphi analysis in order to develop more robust and more flexible procurement plans. Using the Delphi Method to augment IPTs could minimizing the costs and limitations of more traditional group planning while also significantly improve the quality of the procurement decisions. Delphi teams could be used with experts (or even with crowds) to provide sound analysis in many situations where the IPT process is ill equipped to produce unbiased and long-term results. Delphi teams would have the ability, as well, to look at bigger picture issues, and thereby avoid the narrow-scope, tunnel-vision analysis where most of the IPTs operate.
This site discusses and tracks the use of Delphi-type methods in doing all kinds of research: academic, theoretical and real-world. Businesses can use the Delphi method to identify key issues, develop scenario plans and/or do horizon planning.
Strategic Business Planning that use similar methods as those used by Delphi Method. A strategic planning workshop for strat plan development uses a modified SWOT planning situational analysis method, for example. But the Delphi Method works best for horizon planning, future new product planning and scenario planning. We like to integrate disaster recovery planning (business continuity planning) into the scenario planning process.
Strategic Planning company (Hall, Hinkelman and associates) have done research and publishing on scenario planning and Delphi Method research.
Find these articles/books at:
SBPs Storefront at LuLu Press: LuLu.com/spotlight/SBPlan (Chapter 8 of the Guide 2.0 as well as the Economic Development Plan.)
Refractive Thinker(r) RefractiveThinker.com (Look for articles/chapters on Delphi research including the Delphi Primer.)
We like to look for that future deflection point were it would be clear to everyone, including the dog, “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”
