Future Jobs to Be Done – Cities
Future Jobs to Be Done – Cities

Future Jobs to Be Done – Cities

In a world where many are being priced out of their neighborhoods and prefer hybrid lifestyles, people will need resources and motivation to continue living in cities. Ipsos Strategy3's Sophie Washington explains what that support could look like.
What the Future: Cities
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Ipsos spins the traditional “Jobs to Be Done” framework forward with future Jobs to Be Done (fJTBD). This builds on the theory that people buy products and services to fulfill certain needs or accomplish specific tasks. For example, we don’t buy an apartment; we hire it to nurture us and our loved ones, give us shelter, and create a space of our own in a busy world.

To bring it into the future, we envision powerful and plausible scenarios through strategic foresight. While many needs are enduring and do not change over time, the context of that job will change along with the potential solutions and alternatives. These scenarios help us define the circumstances in which people may find themselves, like considering whether to stay in a city that depletes our savings or retreat to more suburban pastures that offer less immediate proximity to our communities.

We use fJTBD to tie these scenarios to actions that organizations can take to help people meet future needs. While it’s typical in foresight to create fJTBD clusters, we’re sharing one scenario here as an example.

Help me enjoy, thrive in, and connect to others in urban spaces

In a world where many are being priced out of their neighborhoods and prefer hybrid lifestyles, people will need resources and motivation to continue living in cities.

Potential fJTBD:

  • Help me be part of and contribute to an inclusive urban community
  • Provide me with the mobility resources I need to navigate around efficiently (for both cost and time)
  • Help me thrive financially and find affordable housing
  • Give me access to culture and new experiences that broaden my horizons

Imagine a world where … A governmental environmental justice task force is rolled out across all U.S. metro areas to improve health and wellbeing for city dwellers.

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What the Future: Cities

For further reading

Ipsos Strategy3

The Future of Shopping

Ipsos Top Topics: Artificial Intelligence

The author(s)

  • Sophie Washington
    Senior Consultant at Ipsos Strategy3