Trends Identified
Interconnected and infectious
Infectious diseases remain a significant threat, particularly in today’s highly mobile, interdependent and interconnected world. Risks anywhere can be threats everywhere. With around 40 new infectious diseases discovered in the past 40 years, of which SARS, HIV and different types of influenza are but three, the concern about further new pandemics is not a case of if but when.
2013
Now for the long term - The Report of the Oxford Martin Commission for Future Generations
Oxford Martin School
Insects
Inexpensive, nutritious and plentiful — insects fulfil many criteria that meat cannot. Food manufacturer Exo recently launched a set of bars made from cricket flour: cricket flour contains 60% protein, more calcium than milk and all essential amino acids, but is gluten- and dairy-free. It takes 100 gallons of water to produce 72g of crickets as opposed to only 6g of beef. Grasshoppers too are on the menu, along with fruit fly larvae. Over one-third of the world’s population already eats insects, such as caterpillars and termites — but questions remain as to how they can be presented to appeal to a more widespread consumer base.
2017
How we eat now: five disruptive food trends
EY
Deepening income inequality
Inequality is one of the key
challenges of our time. Income inequality specifically is one of the most visible aspects of a broader
and more complex issue, one that entails inequality of opportunity
and extends to gender, ethnicity, disability, and age, among others. Ranking second in last year’s
Outlook, it was identified as the
most signi cant trend of 2015 by
our Network’s experts. This affects
all countries around the world. In developed and developing countries alike, the poorest half of the population often controls less than 10% of its wealth. This is a universal challenge that the whole world must address.
2014
Outlook on the global agenda 2015
World Economic Forum (WEF)
The industrial internet of things
Industry 4.0 means that more devices—sometimes including unfinished products—will be enriched with embedded computing. This will allow field devices to communicate and interact both with one another and with more centralized controllers, as necessary. It will also decentralize analytics and decision making, enabling real-time responses.
2015
Nine Technologies Transforming Industrial Production
Boston Consulting Group (BCG)
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) are adult cells that have been genetically reprogrammed to the undifferentiated state of an embryonic stem cell. The unlimited differentiation potential and use of the patient’s own cells facilitate the application of the technology for medical purposes.
2009
KISTEP 10 Emerging Technologies 2009
South Korea, Korea Institute of S&T Evaluation and Planning (KISTEP)
Individualism and entrepreneurship
Independence is becoming the dominant motivator for a large section of the population, particularly for millennials (born from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s) and Gen-Zers (born in the mid- to late 1990s and after). These younger people tend to get bored doing the same kind of work for long stretches, and they are especially interested in independent careers. Empowered by digital platforms and ecosystems, many are choosing entrepreneurship and self-employment over traditional corporate employment. By 2020, freelancers will constitute 50% of the workforce
2017
Twelve Forces That Will Radically Change How Organizations Work
Boston Consulting Group (BCG)
Internet of Things: From sensing to doing - Think big, start small, scale fast
Increasingly, forward-thinking organizations are focusing their Internet of Things (IoT) initiatives less on underlying sensors, devices, and “smart” things and more on developing bold approaches for managing data, leveraging “brownfield” IoT infrastructure, and developing new business models. Meanwhile, others are developing human-impact IoT use cases for boosting food production, cutting carbon emissions, and transforming health services. What impact will IoT have on your business and on the people around you? Rapid prototyping can help you find out.
2016
Tech trends 2016 - innovating in the digital era
Deloitte
Mobile Internet
Increasingly inexpensive and capable mobile computing devices and Internet connectivity
2013
Disruptive technologies: Advances that will transform life, business, and the global economy
McKinsey
Advanced robotics
Increasingly capable robots with enhanced senses, dexterity, and intelligence used to automate tasks or augment humans
2013
Disruptive technologies: Advances that will transform life, business, and the global economy
McKinsey
Research and Development
Increasing volumes of R&D will take place outside established centres of research, with rapid proliferation and expansion of information and research facilities in developing economies. The academic sector will become increasingly transnational as information technologies allow virtual collaborations. This is likely to lead to a decline and possibly even a reversal in the technological dominance of the West, with China and India poised to become technology leaders in some fields. Intellectual property and commercial exclusivity are likely to be under constant pressure from inadvertent disclosure, penetration and espionage. Under these conditions, knowledge and innovation will become more diffuse and internationalised, accelerating the development process.
2010
Global strategic trends - out to 2040
UK, Ministry of Defence