In terms of future events, people could have many questions. For an investor, if he/she could predict the future movement of a stock price, he/she could make more profit. For a company, if they could forecast the trend of their products, they could increase their stock price and products' market shares. For governments, if they could predict the impact of an aging population on society and the economy, they would have more incentive to design a better policy in terms of government budget and other related strategic decisions.
For universities, if they could have a good grasp of the market demand in terms of quality and skill sets for their graduates, they could design a set of better programs or launch new programs to satisfy the future needs in terms of a labor force.
For a better prediction or forecast, researchers have to consider...