Trends Identified
Advanced energy storage technologies
Energy storage technology can be defined as a system that absorbs energy and stores it for a period of time before releasing it on demand to supply energy or power services. Breakthroughs are needed in this technology to optimise the performance of energy systems and facilitate the integration of renewable energy resources.
2016
OECD Science, Technology and Innovation Outlook 2016
OECD
Synthetic biology
Synthetic biology is a new field of research in biotechnology that draws on engineering principles to manipulate DNA in organisms. It allows for the design and construction of new biological parts and the re-design of natural biological systems for useful purposes. It is expected to have a wide range of applications in health, agriculture, industry and energy, but it also raises major legal and ethical issues.
2016
OECD Science, Technology and Innovation Outlook 2016
OECD
Blockchain
Blockchain is a database that allows the transfer of value within computer networks.
This technology is expected to disrupt several markets by ensuring trustworthy transactions without the necessity of a third party. The proliferation of this technology is, however, threatened by technical issues that remain to be resolved.
2016
OECD Science, Technology and Innovation Outlook 2016
OECD
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) seeks to endow machines with reasoning capabilities that may one day surpass those of human beings. While their full impact remains difficult to appraise, intelligent systems are likely to bring considerable productivity gains and lead to irreversible changes in our societies.
2016
OECD Science, Technology and Innovation Outlook 2016
OECD
Identity
Every citizen, resident and business needs to have an identity to access government services and participate in society and the economy. While this seems simple, the process is often complicated and in many contexts can be controversial. Governments are conceiving of new ways of providing identities to individuals though biometrics and emerging technologies such as blockchain. They are also helping businesses make better decisions about their brand identities in an increasingly competitive marketplace, and helping citizens demonstrate the unique combination of knowledge, skills and experiences that make up their own personal identities. In the modern interconnected world, governments and individuals are also raising questions about national identity and re-imagining what it means to be a citizen in an increasingly borderless world. Government innovators are exploring these many aspects of identity and pursuing initiatives that serve as essential building blocks of innovation.
2018
Embracing Innovation in Government: Global Trends 2018
OECD
System approaches
The complexities of today’s problems require systemic change rather than simple, incremental responses. Technology, environmental challenges and citizens’ dissatisfaction with “business as usual” are all putting pressure on governments to change their working methods and reach beyond simple solutions and linear equations of cause and effect. This marks an innovative paradigm shift in governance. Rather than layering interventions on top of one another, the public sector should repack policies in ways that allow them to get to the real purpose of change and deliver value to citizens. Human wants, needs and desires are complex, and the systems created to satisfy them are even more so. If simple models are used to analyse them, they will produce simple answers. As human lives and the problems that affect them are intertwined, innovative working methods are needed that take this complexity into account and provide solutions that actually work. One way to address these challenges is to apply a more systemic approach to innovation.
2018
Embracing Innovation in Government: Global Trends 2018
OECD
Inclusiveness and vulnerable populations
In the face of migration and ageing populations, uncertainties about the future of work and job automation, and continued gender and economic inequalities despite decades of attempted reforms, world governments are turning to innovation to help create more inclusive societies where no one is left behind – especially those who are most vulnerable. Many countries have rallied behind global initiatives such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), while some have acted on their own initiative when confronted with unexpected threats to the well-being of their people. The last few years have seen record levels of people displaced from their homes due to violence and conflict and environmental factors such as climate change, as well as global waves of nationalism that limit the ability of these migrants to integrate well into their new communities. The same period has witnessed targeted gender-inclusion initiatives and a reckoning for gender-based mistreatment, as well as continued disparities in pay and political inclusion. Other major issues are visible on the horizon, such as ageing populations and the displacement of jobs through automation. The world is at a crossroads with governments challenged to acknowledge new realities and create new solutions through innovation.
2018
Embracing Innovation in Government: Global Trends 2018
OECD
Be nice to the telepresence robot
You wouldn’t rest your feet on a colleague during a meeting. But what if your workmate was a robot controlled by a co-worker many kilometres away – would it still be rude? This is typical of the new etiquette questions that will be raised by remote-controlled telepresence robots, which allow you to transport your “self” anywhere in the world to take a look around. A roving version of you, these robots could alter the way we travel and interact with each other.
2011
Seven technologies to disrupt the next decade
NewScientist
Stroll through data in the augmented city
Our cities could soon be painted with secrets we cannot see with the naked eye. The streets, buildings and sometimes even the citizens themselves would teem with virtual information. With the help of augmented reality (AR) you could see the occupancy level of a hotel emblazoned on its walls and read a restaurant’s reviews as you walk past. The people you meet might even reveal their names and job titles before you say a word. AR is about to create a new layer over the cityscape by adding graphical information from apps and the internet onto objects in your field-of-view as you peer around.
2011
Seven technologies to disrupt the next decade
NewScientist
Don’t invent, evolve
We are on the cusp of a new era in the history of invention. That’s the implication of software that can automatically “evolve” technology, and create designs that often no human would come up with. It’s already transforming fields as diverse as robot locomotion, computer security and drug design.
2011
Seven technologies to disrupt the next decade
NewScientist