Trends Identified
You'll have better access to your medical data.
Apple's move to make medical records available on the iPhone is likely to be the first domino in a move to democratize access to, and control of, patients’ health data. People who live in countries where health care is decentralized know that if they change doctors, their medical records typically don't follow them. And the entities that do have access to health care data, such as hospitals and insurance companies, typically don't share it, more for competitive reasons than patient-centric ones. But a behemoth like Apple could change the stakes. "I'd like us to get to the point where data is not seen as intellectual property," said Dr. Doug Fridsma, president and CEO of the American Medical Informatics Association. "If we don't have the ability to share data, you're going to stifle innovation." It's notable, he adds, that Apple — a company that does everything on its own terms, from operating systems to headphone jacks — is using the international FHIR standards for its Health app.
2018
50 Big Ideas for 2019: What to watch in the year ahead
LinkedIn
Recession Watch
Apologies for being contrary; all signs point to a solid economy in 2018, with tax cuts boosting growth. But that’s precisely the reason to start worrying. The economic expansion is eight and a half years old, and this spring, it becomes the second longest on record.
2018
Five Big Business Trends to Watch in 2018
Fortune
Labour underutilization is more prevalent among women
Apart from the unemployed, a further 140 million people were in the “potential labour force” in 2018, which means that they have to be classified as underutilized labour. This group of people who are looking for a job but are not available to take up employment, or who are available but are not looking for a job, includes far more women (85 million) than men (55 million). The corresponding rate of labour underutilization is consequently much higher for women, at 11.0 per cent, than for men, at 7.1 per cent. In addition, women are much more likely to work part time and a significant proportion say they would prefer more hours of employment.
2019
World Employment and Social Outlook
International Labour Organization (ILO)
Growing scarcity of water world-wide
Apart from its human impact on the most exposed societies, water scarcity may lead to conflicts and forced migration. Europe could be affected both directly and indirectly, and faces considerable challenges as a result.
2016
Global Trendometer - essays on medium- and long-term global trends
European Strategy and Policy Analysis System (ESPAS)
Differing Political Systems
Any assumption that Western liberal values and processes would become the global norm has already been severely challenged. Out to 2040, there will be an era of competing political systems, ranging from liberal democracy through to autocracy and theocracy. Tension between regions, states and nationalist identities, and corruption among ruling elites, are likely to constrain the spread of democracy. Liberal democracies will still dominate in the West. However, the arguments of some democratic movements may not be perceived as strong enough to solve the problems in some developing states that maintain, or turn to, more autocratic or authoritarian political systems. The populations of some states may favour stability, the promise of economic growth and limited de-regulation at the expense of fully representative government. Political systems based on tradition, be it ethnic, tribal or religious, are likely to remain features of the global political system, as are dictatorships.
2010
Global strategic trends - out to 2040
UK, Ministry of Defence
A watershed year for transparency
Anticipating the recommendations for reporting climate-related financial risks from the Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), companies such as ExxonMobil have faced investor and public pressure to voluntarily improve risk disclosure. This could re the gun for greater transparency in other parts of business such as executive pay, gender equality and tax arrangements.
2018
8 sustainability trends that will define 2018
Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership
Anti-Automation - Driving change in CSR policy near you soon
Anti-automation sentiment hangs heavy in the air. All manner of people – from entrepreneurs to policy makers, from technologists to everyday consumers – fret about the promised disruption to working and leisure lives caused by the forces of automation and evolving AI. Whilst, in reality, consumers will welcome the multiple benefits that automated innovation brings, disquiet (about job prospects, spending power, status) creates opportunities for brands to create supportive messaging as well as new skills to help consumers adapt.
2018
Trending 2018
Foresight Factory
Digital wallets will empty faster
Anthropologists know there are three things most of us now carry with us wherever we go: our keys, our wallets and our cellphones. Digital wallets could fold the last two into a single item – and perhaps eradicate cash altogether. Could it change how we spend too?
2011
Seven technologies to disrupt the next decade
NewScientist
3D printing
Another recent digital development, 3D printing, also offers potential economic, social and environmental benefits for developing countries. Invented three decades ago, 3D printing has become a viable technology for global manufacturers to produce critical parts for airplanes, wind turbines, automobiles and other machines as a result of huge reductions in its costs and complementary developments in computer-aided design, the Internet, new materials for manufacturing and cloud computing (Campbell et al., 2011).
2018
Technology and Innovation Report 2018
UNCTAD
More urbanization
Another major trend will be the continuing urbanization of the world’s population, particularly in the developing world. As agriculture becomes more mechanized, there will be a continued shift from rural areas to cities–a shift accelerated by the powerful expansion of media messages touting the modernity of urban life.
2011
Megatrends and the future of humanitarian action
International Review of the Red Cross