Summary of the 52 key global insights to have come from the Future Agenda programme. 50 workshops in 25 different locations around the world engaged with some of the best minds to discuss the big issues for the next decade. Book and new website coming in November 2010
An innovation leaders fund modeling the link to growth - feb 2013
Future Agenda Key Global Insights
1.
2. Imbalanced Population Growth Certainties
By 2020 we will add another 700m people to the planet,
By 2020 we will add another 700m people to the planet,
most in places least able to accommodate them
3. Key Resource Constraints Certainties
We will see economic, physical and political shortages of key
We will see economic, physical and political shortages of key
materials that will result in major changes in perspectives
4. Ubiquitous Data Access Certainties
We will be connected everywhere everything that can
We will be connected everywhere ‐ everything that can
benefit from a network connection will have one
5. Asian Wealth Shift Certainties
The centre of gravity of global wealth
The centre of gravity of global wealth
shifts East with decreased influence for the US and Europe
8. Automated People Care Health
Robotic assisted care and remote monitoring provide
economically viable support for the sick and elderly so
that people can stay home for longer
9. Clinical Enhancement Health
Enhanced functionality will shift from an external
add‐on to an integrated capability to provide
the option for super‐human performance
10. Diabesity Health
With diabetes consuming 5% of GDP a combination of
fat taxation, patient data mining and personal budgets
will play a role in stabilising the obesity epidemic
11. Global Pandemics Health
We are likely to see 2 to 3 major pandemics start in
regions with limited public healthcare and rapidly
spread globally and so demand fast response
12. Halting Alzheimer's Health
Stopping mental degradation from Alzheimer’s makes
quality ageing more possible by improving
cognition and slowing the rate of decline
13. Mass Medical Tourism Health
Medical tourism goes main‐stream as low‐cost cardiac
surgery and broader healthcare provision join
dentistry and cosmetic surgery to have global impact
14. Pharma Foods Health
More customised foods, blur the line between
pharmaceuticals and food as neutragenomics
allow individualised diets to fit genetic profiles
15. Systemic Euthanasia Health
The escalating economic and social cost of supporting
the aged beyond natural lifecycles leads
to wider acceptance of assisted suicide
18. Differentiated Commoditised Knowledge Wealth
As information is shared globally and insight is commoditized,
the best returns go to those who can produce
non‐standard, differentiated knowledge
19. Dynamic Pricing Wealth
Pervasive smart meters and ubiquitous tracking services
create platforms for the dynamic pricing of
resources, access and travel to manage demand
20. Lease everything Wealth
Rising sustainability imperatives and increasing
cost of ownership shift the balance from
ownership to access and we prefer to rent than buy
21. Less Energy Wealth
Consumers are incentivised to use significantly
less energy as escalating growth in carbon emissions
force utilities to change their business models
22. Local Currency Wealth
The revitalisation of bartering, decreased trust in
banks and increasing tax avoidance broadens
the adoption of alternative stores of value for trade
23. Mobile Money Wealth
Proven systems built on mobile connectivity and
increasingly flexible means of exchange provide a
tipping point in the shift towards the cashless society
24. Richer Poorer Wealth
Widening differences in wealth between and within
urban and rural communities extends the gap between
rich and poor ‐ but they still need each other
25. Third Global Currency Wealth
The economic rise of Asia and the need for an alternative
to the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency produces
a parallel broad‐basket Asian Currency Unit
28. Active Elderly Happiness
A wealthier, healthier older generation increasingly
lead more active lives including 3rd generation careers
d
and becoming more politically involved
29. Choosing God Happiness
The increasing fragmentation of society and looser
connection between religion and the state sees
more of us turning to God to help define who we are
30. Cocktail Identities Happiness
The differentiation between real and virtual disappears
and who you are ceases to use a singular identity
as we manage multiple identity portfolios
31. Enjoying the Ordinary Happiness
Growing satisfaction in the basics of life focuses
more on making the most of the day‐to‐day
and increasingly valuing the ordinary
32. Less Variety Happiness
The future is one of reduced choice but not less interest
as retailers provide an increasingly edited portfolio
of products through ever more efficient channels
33. Live Experiences Happiness
The role of live activities in an increasingly virtual,
isolated world becomes more important to
create moments for deeper, richer connections
34. Seamless Media Consumption Happiness
Multiple media sources are instantly integrated at
the point of consumption to provide continual, enhanced
and immersive access to tailored, bite‐sized content
35. Switching Off Happiness
Being disconnected in an always connected world leads
to virtual cocoons at home and real physical
solitude becomes an option only for the rich
38. Asian Aviation Mobility
Led by more tourists and steady growth in cargo
transportation, Asian aviation places more orders
and becomes the largest air market in the world
39. Chinese Trains Mobility
China, the pacesetter for change in inter‐urban
transport, is investing over $1 trillion expanding its
$
rail network to 120,000km by 2020
40. Clean Shipping Mobility
Under increasing pressure to improve efficiency
freight shipping adopts a range of alternative
policies and power systems
41. Electric Mobility Mobility
With France and Germany taking the initial lead roles,
electric cars take off and form up to 10% of the
world’s vehicle fleet by 2020
42. Intelligent Highways Mobility
Mesh networks and ubiquitous mobile connections
deliver automated highways to improve safety,
increase capacity and reduce congestion
43. Muslim Europe Mobility
With increasing economic migration the total
Muslim population of Europe is similar in size to that
of Germany and a rising cultural / political influence
44. People Tracking Mobility
The acceptance of being tracked by your mobile is
accelerated by ticket‐less transport systems, increased
surveillance and successful location‐based services
45. Urban (Im)mobility Mobility
Informed choices, growth, congestion and regulation
impact the world’s cities to drive a shift to
more sustainable efficient transport options
48. Alternative Proteins Security
The shift in global diet from rice to meat brings
new sources of protein like lab‐grown manufactured
meats and high protein vegetable combinations
49. Bio‐Surveillance Security
Active gathering and interpretation of data related
to threats to human and animal health delivers
aster early warning and situational awareness
50. Credible Sources Security
Greater information overload moves our focus
from simply accessing data to include the source
of the insight to distinguish what we trust
51. Corporate LEGO Security
With more free agents and outsourcing, non‐core
functions within organisations are interchangeable
and easily rebuilt around value‐creating units
52. Drone Wars Security
Intelligent UAVs choose their victims themselves
as the race for more focused military influence leads
to the proliferation of assassination tools
53. Solar Sunrise Security
Increasing governmental focus on energy security
and climate change drives the uptake of large‐scale
solar as the leading renewable supply
54. Water Management Security
Advanced water purification, irrigation and desalination
technologies are used to help communities to
manage the rising supply / demand imbalance
55. Virtual Authenticity Security
Trusting our digital credentials allows us to participate
confidently in open global transactions to gain access
to what we want when we want it
58. Almost Zero Waste Locality
Escalating waste production and new attitudes,
approaches, regulation and business models lead
many to aim for an almost zero waste society
59. Bridging The Last Mile Locality
The need to make public transport as flexible as private
focuses attention on the last mile between multi‐modal
hubs and the home / work destination
60. Community Living Locality
In rural and urban environments, the community is a
prized goal for the middle aged, middle classes as
they seek to reconnect with “people like us”
61. Dense Cities Locality
As urban migration increases, efficient, densely
populated cities, not distributed options, are the
blueprints for more sustainable places to live
62. Local Foods Locality
Increased transparency on food availability and security,
land use and eco‐literacy accelerate mass consumption
of locally grown and processed foods
63. Intelligent buildings Locality
Smarter, better connected, self‐monitoring homes
and offices provide safer, more secure, low energy
buildings able to self‐manage utilities
64. Mega City States Locality
Increasing competition between cities over‐rides national
priorities as mayors lead bold initiatives to place their
cities at the forefront of the global stage
65. Migration Magnets Locality
Immigration is part of economic development strategies
and, especially in low fertility economies,
nations position themselves to attract migrants