Trends Identified
Growing pressure on local and regional authorities to better understand society, use of big data in areas such as e-health and e-education
Big data analytics is aimed at making governments and companies more effective. The rejuvenation of public services should continue through the rapid implementation of services such as e-government, e-health, e-invoicing and e-procurement. This will lead to more and better digital services for citizens and enterprises across the EU and free resources in the public sector for innovative use.
2014
Challenges at the horizon 2025
European Strategy and Policy Analysis System (ESPAS)
Growing power of NGOs
Non-governmentorganizations(NGOs)likeAmnestyInternational,Greenpeace,WorldwideFundforNature,Transparency International, Human Rights Watch and Oxfam will grow significantly up to 2030. They will continuously increase the influence of global civil society and raise awareness for issues such as environmental protection, social justice and human rights. Low entry costs, low overheads and the capacity of individuals and groups to affiliate with each other using the Internet are facilitating this development. In particular, the global conferences of the United Nations (UN), starting with the Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, have given NGOs a new position and greater acceptance.
2011
Trend compendium 2030
Roland Berger Strategy Consultants
Growing output of primary inputs
Growing demand among more nations for oil and natural gas, grains and proteins, fresh water and extracted ores, such as copper, aluminum and rare earth metals, will create price volatility and transient shortages of a few of these commodities over the coming decade. Investment in conservation measures, alternative supplies and technologies will increase in some areas, though new fossil fuel sources will reduce economic incentives to invest in alternative energy. Estimated contribution to global GDP by 2020: $3 trillion.
2011
The great eight: Trillion-dollar growth trends to 2020
Bain and Company
Growing number of international ‘virtual workers’
The same tools that allow Canadians to work from a coffee shop will also support them in becoming “virtual workers” for employers in other countries. If they develop the right skills, they could compete globally for short tasks or part-time or full-time work. The system will also allow foreigners to bid for tasks and jobs in Canada. The workforce will become increasingly global. Worksites are emerging that facilitate finding virtual work (e.g., freelancer.ca or eLance.com). Reputation systems (e.g., eBay’s ratings system) will track individual performance, competence and specific skills to allow virtual employers to quickly find competent and trustworthy workers.
2013
Metascan 3 emerging technologies
Canada, Policy Horizons Canada
Growing need to restore citizens’ perceptions about voice
EU citizens have increasingly grown discontented about the functioning of the EU as a political system. When asked whether their voice matters in the EU a record 67% of the electorate thinks it does not.
2014
Challenges at the horizon 2025
European Strategy and Policy Analysis System (ESPAS)
Growing need for effective decision- making
Other challenges include ways for the EU to function more effectively and aggregate citizens’ voice more effectively in order to react to their concerns and build trust at every level of governance121. This is by all means the foremost important challenge the EU is facing over the coming decades.
2014
Challenges at the horizon 2025
European Strategy and Policy Analysis System (ESPAS)
Growing knowledge about citizens choices and preferences and the dawn of internet of things
While big data has many promises, the next challenge is how to best use that data while respecting the privacy concerns of European citizens. The most valuable big data information is about people going online and the digital trail that they leave behind. By making connections between different snippets of information, big data can reveal far more than ever intended. Inevitably that means the collection and use of big data is central to the debate on privacy and the use of personal data. The EU needs a data protection framework that builds that confidence and permits that digital innovation.
2014
Challenges at the horizon 2025
European Strategy and Policy Analysis System (ESPAS)
Growing individual empowerment
Against the background of the economic and financial crisis, it is more urgent than ever to fundamentally review the manner in which society functions and to empower people to contribute actively in their communities to live as independently as long as possible
2014
Challenges at the horizon 2025
European Strategy and Policy Analysis System (ESPAS)
Growing in complicated times
Today’s CEOs face a business environment that’s becoming increasingly complicated to read and adapt to. Seven years on from the global financial crisis, the business landscape still hasn’t really returned to what it was. Will it ever? Last year regulation, skills, national debt, geopolitical uncertainty and taxes topped CEOs’ list of concerns about threats to business growth. None of these have gone away this year. In fact, the level of worry is higher today than at any point in the past five years. Concern about over-regulation in particular is still highest, cited by 79% of CEOs – making it the fourth year in a row that it’s risen (see Figure 1). Geopolitical uncertainty, meanwhile, has become the second biggest concern, cited by 74% of business leaders. This comes at a time when terror attacks are increasing and touching every part of the world, many linked to the heightened conflict in Iraq and Syria. Global conflicts are also connected to anxieties about social instability and readiness to respond to crises, named by 65% and 61% of CEOs, respectively. Cyber security is also a worry for 61% of CEOs, representing as it does threats to both national and commercial interests.
2016
19th Annual global CEO survey
PWC
Growing importance of health in the economy
Health presents a challenge for all nations; in a study by the Pew Research Center, a median of 85% of respondents believe it was a problem in their country. Effective public health systems are essential for providing care for the sick, and for instituting measures that promote wellness and prevent disease. Tobacco, for instance, is one of the greatest scourges we face. In working to combat diseases such as lung cancer and heart disease, we have to fight the causes; there’s a clear need for educational campaigns and other mechanisms to discourage people from smoking in the first place. If the plan to improve health
in a nation is to simply build a few more hospitals, that won’t solve the problem.
2014
Outlook on the global agenda 2015
World Economic Forum (WEF)