Trends Identified
More contract and part-time workers
As noted in MetaScan 2, more and more workers will likely be part-time, self-employed contactors in the emerging “project economy.” For the duration of a project, they may work in an office, in their home or from a creative hub or public space. Smart surfaces will enable workers to create or share a workspace anywhere, with capacity for virtual face- to-face and group-to-group collaboration. Both high- and low-skilled workers will do tasks or jobs of varying dura on for multiple employers, brokered through social media and “microtasking” apps.
2013
Metascan 3 emerging technologies
Canada, Policy Horizons Canada
More electric and hybrid vehicles
Electric engines will grow in the auto sector as advanced batteries take off. Initial costs of electric vehicles are foreseen to decline to parity with conventional vehicles as battery production rises twentyfold. The cost of ownership of electric vehicles is a quarter of the cost of those with internal combustion engines, which will further promote the adoption of electric vehicles as parity approaches. Advanced hybrid engines using biofuels may create a new market segment.
2013
Metascan 3 emerging technologies
Canada, Policy Horizons Canada
More from less
The earth has limited supplies of natural mineral, energy, water and food resources essential for human survival and maintaining lifestyles. Data are revealing many of these resources are being depleted at often alarming rates. At the same time population growth_x000B_and economic growth are placing upward pressure on demand. The more from less megatrend explores how companies, governments and communities will discover new ways of ensuring quality of life for current and future generations within the confines of the natural world’s limited resources. Science, technology, business processes, government policy, lifestyle patterns and cultural norms will all play a role.
2012
Our future world - globla megatrends that will change the way we live
Australia, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
More people
The UN predicts that the world’s population will continue to grow, reaching the level of 10.1 billion by 2100; this is an increase over earlier projections that the population would level off by the middle of this century.3 The expansion of the population to 8 billion by 2025, coupled with changing consumption patterns, is expected to lead to a 50% increase in global food production.
2011
Megatrends and the future of humanitarian action
International Review of the Red Cross
More robust, genetically modified crops
Synthetic biology can also be used to develop new crops with desirable traits such as salt-tolerance, drought-tolerance, and pest-resistance. This technology may help address issues raised by climate change or relieve pressure on arable land, particularly that used to grow feed for animals and some food crops (e.g., sugar, corn for fuel).
2013
Metascan 3 emerging technologies
Canada, Policy Horizons Canada
More seats at the table
Whilst the state remains the principal actor in world politics, there are now almost four times as many states as there were in 1945. This increase in players makes international consensus on global challenges harder to reach.
2013
Now for the long term - The Report of the Oxford Martin Commission for Future Generations
Oxford Martin School
More than 170 million people are unemployed despitethe continued decrease in the global unemployment rate
An estimated 172 million people worldwide were unemployed in 2018, which corresponds to an un-employment rate of 5.0 per cent. It is remarkable that, whereas it took only one year for the global un-employment rate to jump from 5.0 per cent in 2008 to 5.6 per cent in 2009, the recovery to the levels that prevailed before the global financial crisis has taken a full nine years. The current outlook is un-certain. Assuming stable economic conditions, the unemployment rate in many countries is projected to decline further. However, macroeconomic risks have increased and are already having a negative impact on the labour market in a number of countries. On balance, the global unemployment rate should remain at roughly the same level during 2019 and 2020. The number of people unemployed is projected to increase by 1 million per year to reach 174 million by 2020 as a result of the expanding labour force.
2019
World Employment and Social Outlook
International Labour Organization (ILO)
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
Move over, Millennials; it’s Gen Z’s time.
In 2019, Generation Z will outnumber Millennials, that generation you’ve loved to hate for the past decade. “Generation Z is now heading into the workforce in meaningful numbers and for the first time in modern history five generations will be working side-by-side,” says Michael Dell, CEO and chairman of Dell Technologies. Gen Z — which Pew Research Center defines as those born from 1997 onward — will be about one-third of the global population and one-fifth of its workers. What is this new generation’s work ethic? “My experience is that they lean in and lean hard,” says best-selling author Brené Brown. About half of her staff is Gen Z. “They are all very different people, but as a group I experience them as curious, hopeful, always learning, painfully attuned to the suffering in the world, and anxious to do something about it.”
2018
50 Big Ideas for 2019: What to watch in the year ahead
LinkedIn
Moving from gasoline engines to hybrids and electric.
The power behind transportation is changing. Both electric and hybrid engines will become more common. Energy exchanges between homes and cars using smart grids and “smart homes” technologies will become possible. Fossil fuels may be supplemented with diesel or bioethanol produced locally in bioreactors. The use of light, strong nanomaterials, including nanocarbon, in conjunction with more efficient and longer-range engines and batteries, means vehicles will be safer, weigh less and go farther. The availability of stronger and more heat-tolerant nanomaterials may allow higher running temperatures and more energy-efficient engines. Regardless of mode (airplane, rail, ship or personal car), vehicle
2013
Metascan 3 emerging technologies
Canada, Policy Horizons Canada