Trends Identified
Web services (geoportals)
Geoportals – a set of webservices (downloads, visualisation, editing, transformation, analysis, etc.) carried out on the basis of unrestricted access to geographic (geospatial) information – make it possible to improve efficiency and dramatically reduce the amount of time required to deliver public services. Moreover, they address the problem of investment openness and transparency. An important property of geoportals is the self-development of services. Thus, regional geoportals will be able to monitor the movement of state and municipal transport (snow removal machinery, ambulances, etc.). This leads to the accumulation of data on average speeds along main city thoroughfares and makes it easier to find ways to optimise use of the road network.
2016
Russia 2030: science and technology foresight
Russia, Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation
Marketplaces Everywhere
Get ready for marketplaces everywhere. The fourth generation of marketplace business models will be focused on the service sector. Three converging trends will drive their rapid expansion. Firstly, the over five billion connected devices and nearly 230 billion app downloads expected in 2019 will lead to an increase in mobile based marketplace models for services. China and India will lead the way here, primarily because of their growing app economy. Secondly, technologies like blockchain will transform online payment systems. Thirdly, a surging on-demand economy will fuel the expansion and diversification of digital service marketplaces. Watch out for a series of niche service marketplaces—adult and child healthcare, vehicle ride-hailing services or vehicle after sales spares & services, for example—as a result of the focus on personalization and customization.
2019
Top 10 Trends For 2019
Forbes
Flying Cars Reach for the Skies
Get ready to throw out the conventional road safety rule book. You might not have to check skywards just yet when you cross the road, but flying cars are getting ready to ruffle some feathers (and it’s not just birds we are talking about!). Numerous competitors laid the groundwork in 2017, testing their flying vehicle models, with more expected in 2018. The biggest leap forward in this space, and in the public’s popular imagination, will be the much anticipated launch of a flying taxi service in Dubai this summer. Expect more buzz worthy investments as awareness becomes more widespread.
2018
Top 10 Tech Trends For 2018
Forbes
Global economic growth has rebounded and is expected to remain stable but low
Global economic growth increased to 3.6 per cent in 2017, after hitting a six-year low of 3.2 per cent in 2016. The recovery was broad based, driven by expansions in developing, emerging and developed countries alike. Future growth is likely to stay below 4 per cent, as economic activity normalizes in most major economies without signi cant stimulus and fixed investment remains at a moderate level.
2018
World Employment and Social Outlook
International Labour Organization (ILO)
Energy
Global economic growth, prosperity and rising populations will push up energy needs over the coming decades and as a consequence, governments are introducing measures to drive investment in efficient and low-carbon technologies. The Fukushima nuclear accident, turmoil in parts of the Middle East and North Africa and a sharp rebound in energy demand in 2010 which pushed CO2 emissions to a record high, highlight the urgency and the scale of the challenge.
2012
The future
Steria
Commercial Imperative
Global economic growth, resource pressure in its widest sense and increasing socio-economic dependency ratios will fuel demand; creating opportunities for innovation and investment. Development is increasingly likely to be directed towards commercial imperatives. For example, business enterprises accounted for 68% of OECD Research and Development (R&D) expenditure.233 This aspect will drive innovators to identify maximum applications and markets for their discoveries, with interdisciplinary R&D likely to lead to the most revolutionary outcomes.
2010
Global strategic trends - out to 2040
UK, Ministry of Defence
Energy Demand
Global Energy use has approximately doubled over the last 30 years170 and, by 2040, demand is likely to grow by more than half again. Despite concerns over climate change, demand is likely to remain positively correlated to economic growth171 with fossil fuels, meeting more than 80% of this increase.
2010
Global strategic trends - out to 2040
UK, Ministry of Defence
Environmental / Climate Change
Global environmental change and its impacts are becoming readily apparent and are projected to increase in the future. In some areas these changes could present benefits, such as less energy requirements for heating, longer growing seasons that allow increased agricultural production, and the opening of the Arctic for resource exploration and shipping traffic. However, these benefits are likely to be offset by negative effects elsewhere, including coastal inundation, desertification, deforestation and other ecological effects that will have a direct impact on the world’s fresh water and food. Water stress is expected to be the most inevitable near-term impact of climate change.49
2013
Strategic Foresight Analysis 2013 Report
NATO
Commodity prices will continue to decline and fluctuate
Global GDP growth has consistently outpaced the demand for commodities. Though commodity prices are high now, creating improvements in the terms of trade for some African countries, it is expected to resume its downward trend. Thus, it is expected that commodity prices will continue to fall relative to manufactured goods and knowledge-intensive services.
2011
Africa in 50 Years’ Time
African Development Bank
Off-shore wind farms
Global growth in electrical capacity at wind farms in the period up to 2035 is expected to be approximately 860 GW, 20% of which should come from high-tech sea-based wind farms. These will be built fastest of all; their total power, according to experts, should grow by more than 40 times, which grounds the interest to off-shore wind farms. At present wind farms’ share of total electricity generation is no more than 1.7%, with the majority only serving as pilot projects. The spread of this type of power plant will make it possible to significantly expand the use of wind’s resources and avoid a number of problems related to the development of land-based wind power, such as the inability to use the land for other economic activities, noise pollution, and the influence of strobing, etc. Off-shore wind is more of a “quality” resource for wind energy, as it is characterised by greater average annual speeds and continuity.
2016
Russia 2030: science and technology foresight
Russia, Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation