Half way through the future agenda project we have now run around 50 events in many different countries. Over 400 new insights on the key shifts for the next decade have been added to the mix of many have been discussed in multiple regions. This is a selection of 40 of the key insights that are gaining strong traction with different individuals, groups and organisations around the world.

1. 40
Issues
for
the
Next
Decade
|
Some
Key
Insights
To
Date
|
16
May
2015
Future
Agenda
2.0
|
The
World
in
2025

2. Looking
Forwards
OrganisaGons
increasingly
want
to
idenGfy
and
understand
both
the
anGcipated
and
unexpected
changes
so
that
they
can
be
beKer
prepared
for
the
future.

3. Future
Agenda
The
Future
Agenda
is
the
world’s
largest
open
foresight
program
that
accesses
mulGple
views
of
the
next
decade
from
around
the
world
so
all
can
be
beKer
informed
and
sGmulate
innovaGon.

4. Future
Agenda
1.0
Top
Insights
for
2020
From
the
2010
program,
50+
key
insights
on
the
next
decade
were
shared
widely
via
books
and
online
and
have
been
extensively
used
by
many
organisaGons
around
the
world.

5. Future
Agenda
in
Numbers
The
first
Future
Agenda
programme
engaged
many
views
in
25
countries.
Future
Agenda
2.0
is
doubling
the
face-­‐to-­‐face
interacGon,
engaging
directly
with
100,000
consumers
and
raising
online
sharing,
debate
and
discussion.
Future
Agenda
1.0
1
HOST
16
TOPICS
25
COUNTRIES
50
WORKSHOPS
1500
ORGANISATIONS
Future
Agenda
2.0
35
HOSTS
20
TOPICS
50
CITIES
100
WORKSHOPS
2500
ORGANISATIONS

6. As
we
reach
the
half-­‐way
point
of
the
Future
Agenda
programme
with
50
events
completed,
we
have
over
400
new
insights
on
the
next
decade.
Here
are
40
that
are
engaging
people
and
organisaGons
around
the
world.

7. Imbalanced
PopulaLon
Growth
By
2025
the
populaGon
will
have
grown
by
1bn
with
many
of
us
living
longer:
A
good
number
of
us
will
be
in
marginal
regions
that
are
unable
to
accommodate
extra
growth.

8. Lifespan
Limits
On
a
global
scale,
life
expectancies
in
developed
regions
are
conGnuing
to
rise
in
the
21st
century
and,
although
most
people
assume
that
there
are
biological
limits
on
life
span,
so
far
there
is
liKle
evidence
that
we
are
approaching
them.

9. Working
Longer
For
those
who
have
inadequate
reGrement
savings,
the
most
obvious
soluGon
is
to
work
longer.
One
major
potenGal
barrier,
however,
is
that
employers
remain
ambivalent
about
older
workers.

10. Mega
City
States
Increasing
compeGGon
between
ciGes
over-­‐rides
naGonal
prioriGes
as
mayors
lead
bold
iniGaGves
to
place
their
ciGes
at
the
forefront
of
the
global
stage.

11. Public-­‐Private
City
Partnerships
To
collecGvely
address
major
urban
challenges,
as
shown
by
Medellin
in
Colombia,
governments
increasingly
openly
collaborate
with
business
to
improve
the
insGtuGonal
fabric
of
ciGes
as
well
as
core
infrastructure.

12. FloaLng
CiLes?
Climate
change
poses
a
worrying
challenge
for
ciGes.
50%
of
ciGes
are
dealing
with
its
effects,
and
nearly
all
are
at
risk.
Over
90%
of
all
urban
areas
are
coastal,
puang
most
major
ciGes
on
the
planet
at
risk
of
flooding.

13. Personally
Curated
Data
‘Personally
curated’
sources
of
data
will
have
higher
value
simply
due
to
the
fact
that
they
will
represent
the
actual
wishes
and
desires
of
an
individual,
rather
than
the
presumed
wishes
and
desires
based
on
derived
data.

14. Data
Marketplaces
Data
is
a
currency,
it
has
a
value
and
a
price,
and
therefore
requires
a
market
place.
An
ecosystem
for
trading
data
is
emerging
-­‐
anything
that
is
informaGon
will
be
represented
in
new
data
marketplaces.

15. Paying
for
Privacy
We
do
not
currently
understand
the
value
of
our
data
or
how
it
is
being
used
and
so
are
giving
it
away.
In
the
future
we
might
be
willing
to
pay
more
for
our
privacy
than
the
data
we
share.

16. Sharing
Secrets
In
exchange
for
beKer
service
or
an
improved
quality
of
life,
we
increasingly
recognise
exactly
what
personal
informaGon
we
are
prepared
to
share
and
who
to
share
it
with.

17. School
in
the
Cloud
In
the
networked
age,
we
need
schools,
not
structured
like
factories,
but
like
clouds.
We
know
the
way
we
will
work
in
the
future
will
change.
Therefore
the
way
we
are
educated
and
learn
must
change.

18. Self-­‐Organised
Learning
By
removing
adult
restricGons
on
educaGon
and
providing
children
with
Internet
access
and
on-­‐line
support
and
encouragement,
children
are
able
to
self-­‐organise
and
learn.

19. Teachers
as
Coaches
Future
teachers
will
focus
less
on
content
transfer
and
more
on
facilitaGng
good
learning
-­‐
coaching
students
to
become
beKer
thinkers
and
decision
makers
is
the
priority:
Many
teachers’
status
in
society
rises.

20. The
Role
of
Private
EducaLon
Reshaping
educaGon
in
LaGn
America
is
focused
on
improving
policies
and
changing
aatudes
towards
learning.
Integral
within
this
is
the
role
of
private
educaGon
in
seang
standards
–
that
extend
beyond
just
the
wealthy.

21. ReinvenLng
Diets
Our
relaGonship
with
food
must
change.
We
will
need
to
reinvent
our
diets
to
meet
our
nutriGonal
requirements
for
opGmal
health
and
in
so
doing
consume
fewer
calories
and
less
meat:
We
must
be
prepared
to
pay
realisGc
prices.

22. Reducing
Food
Waste
Postharvest
losses
of
plant
foods
can
be
substanGal
in
developing
countries
and
amount
to
30-­‐50%
of
producGon.
In
developed
countries
we
throw
away
a
similar
proporGon.
The
combined
loss
would
feed
about
3
billion
people.

23. Feeding
the
BoTom
of
the
Pyramid
Achieving
and
maintaining
lower
prices
and
more
efficient
large
scale
distribuGon
to
and
within
ciGes
is
a
social
priority.
Balancing
this
with
higher
safety
standards
and
food
service
costs
is
however
a
challenge
for
some.

24. Changing
Role
of
Government
EnGGes
compete
with
the
state
for
influence
-­‐
environmental,
human
rights,
and
other
acGvist
NGOs
–
and
operate
at
many
levels
of
government
around
the
world.
This
new
dynamic
changes
the
role
of
the
state.

25. Hard
Choices
In
a
society
where
there
is
a
widening
gulf
between
rich
and
poor,
the
rich
may
live
increasingly
separate
lives
and
provide
for
their
own
“public
services”.

26. Less
Carbon
-­‐
More
Energy
The
climate
change
debate
is
serious
but
needs
to
be
broader,
focused
not
solely
on
reducing
CO2
emissions,
but
on
developing
a
low
carbon,
high-­‐energy
future
to
ensure
prosperity
for
all.

27. Rise
of
the
Micro-­‐Actors
We
can
see
a
blurring
of
energy
consumers
and
producers
–
to
‘prosumers’
who
do
both.
Hence
a
move
to
mulGple
micro-­‐actors
working
individually
and
collecGvely
-­‐
supported
by
new
technological
developments,
including
storage.

28. Moving
Water
Water
sources
will
conGnue
to
suffer
from
over-­‐extracGon:
Mining
and
other
acGviGes
will
move
into
our
water
supply
catchments.
This
means
we
will
need
to
move
water
long
distances
in
Gmes
of
drought
to
services
exisGng
ciGes.

29. Reaching
the
Limits
Growing
populaGons
and
rising
consumer
demand
related
to
higher
standards
of
living
across
all
socieGes
are
increasing
consumpGon
of
resources
and
we
are
in
danger
of
exceeding
the
Earth’s
natural
thresholds.

30. Sources
of
Global
SoluLons
Global
healthcare
affordability
will
not
come
from
the
United
States…
but
rather
from
those
naGons
of
the
world
that
have
liKle
today
and
have
no
choice
but
to
perform
at
the
highest
levels
possible
in
the
future.

31. 24/7
Stress
Network
The
millennial
generaGon
is
more
stressed
than
any
other,
living
as
it
does
in
a
24/7,
culturally
diverse,
increasingly
urban
world.
Looking
ahead
there
will
be
a
need
to
provide
a
personalised,
community-­‐based
support
network.

32. The
End
of
Cash?
All
the
evidence
suggests
that
the
use
of
cash
is
in
decline
across
the
globe.
Cash
takes
Gme
to
get
at,
is
riskier
to
carry,
and
by
most
esGmates,
cash
costs
society
as
much
as
1.5%
of
GDP.

33. ProliferaLon
of
Currencies
People
will
increasingly
use
mulGple
forms
of
currency
in
different
contexts:
alongside
naGonal
legal
tender,
we
will
see
more
local
and
crypto-­‐currencies
–
many
decoupled
from
exisGng
systems.

34. TransacLonal
vs.
EmoLonal
Seamless
payments
will
distance
consumers
from
understanding
monetary
value.
Brands
will
have
to
reconsider
the
way
they
connect
to
customers
providing
more
holisGc
and
emoGonal
value.

35. The
Human
Touch
In
a
world
of
global
and
digital
markeGng
and
consumpGon,
consumers
will
increasingly
favour
those
brands
that
can
offer
more
emoGonal
engagements,
and
specifically
human-­‐to-­‐human
contact.

36. Eastern
Centricity
With
China’s
500m-­‐strong
middle-­‐class
burgeoning
and
travel
barriers
diminishing,
Western
and
Eastern
cultures
meet
and
feed
off
one
another,
shiming
global
norms.

37. Security
vs.
Convenience
The
balance
between
convenience
and
security
with
border
controls
coming
under
increasing
strain
as
they
deal
with
huge
volumes
of
people
travelling
internaGonally
at
a
Gme
when
fears
around
global
security
are
high.

38. Wi-­‐fi
Global
Nomads
For
some
in
the
knowledge
economy
the
potenGal
for
conGnuous
travel,
blended
with
part-­‐Gme
work,
is
focused
on
‘wi-­‐fi
hopping’
for
regular
access
to
high-­‐speed
connecGvity
-­‐
no
maKer
where
in
the
world
they
are.

39. Access
Unleashed
A
shim
of
focus
from
access
to
one
of
mobility
is
underpinned
by
both
an
increase
in
online
interacGon
and
a
decrease
in
personal
transport.
This
shim
in
focus
leads
to
more
technology-­‐enabled
business
model
innovaGons.

40. Being
Part
of
Society
Is
the
purpose
of
the
corporaGon
just
about
pursuing
profits,
or
does
it
have
a
broader
responsibility
to
produce
socially
beneficial
outcomes
and
be
a
part
of
society
rather
than
apart
from
it?

41. Measuring
Wealth
in
a
More
Human
Way
As
we
evolve
from
seeing
progress
purely
as
growth
of
GDP
and
income
per
capita
to
a
more
holisGc
understanding
and
measurement
of
wealth,
the
metrics
by
which
we
judge
success
will
have
to
be
reinvented.

42. Inequality
On
The
Agenda
Inequality
has
become
a
concern
not
just
for
developing
countries
but
also
for
those
in
the
West:
The
majority
believe
the
most
pressing
problem
is
inequality
of
wealth
as
well
as
unequal
access
to
health
and
digital
connecGvity.

43. Increasing
Tensions
It
will
be
very
difficult
to
revert
the
trend
of
stagnant
growth
and
high
inequality
that
is
seen
in
many
of
the
richest
economies
leading
to
increasing
poliGcal
and
societal
tensions
and
potenGal
flash
points.

44. Skill
ConcentraLons
The
growth
of
the
nomadic
global
elite
ciGzenship
accelerates
the
concentraGon
of
the
high-­‐skill
/
high-­‐reward
opportuniGes
within
a
select
group
of
globally-­‐connected
ciGzens,
who
move
ahead
of
the
urban
pack.

45. Hollowing
Out
the
Professions
Technology
is
challenging
the
white-­‐collar
worker
and
automaGng
both
middle
and
high-­‐end
jobs.
The
future
will
see
fewer
accountants,
lawyers
and
doctors
and
a
hollowing
out
of
the
previously
‘safe’
professions.

46. Knowing
The
Unknown
By
2020
people
and
connected
objects
will
generate
40
trillion
gigabytes
of
data
that
will
have
an
impact
on
daily
life
in
one
way
or
another.
This
data
will
make
known
about
us
things
that
were
previously
unknown
or
unknowable.

47. Future
Agenda
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