The Science Outlook 2020: Unlocking the Future may be the third edition of this flagship report but it is a trailblazer document on many fronts. This is the first Science Outlook report that has adopted the ecosystem approach to scan Malaysia’s progress in terms of economic development, societal well-being as well as environmental conservation and sustainability through the lens of STI, in the last thirty years. It is the first report to evaluate the challenges outlined in Vision 2020 from the STI perspective – for Malaysia to become a socially cohesive and developed country and chart the STI progress and development in the country since the Vision was launched. We take pride that the Science Outlook 2020 is the first ASM report to include growth trajectory modelling and strategic foresighting to futureproof Malaysia’s STI policy development and implementation.