CSIRO Megatrends and Megashocks

One more that I missed when it was published earlier this year.

Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) have published a report outlining what they call their megatrends and megashocks titled “Our Future World: An analysis of global trends, shocks and scenarios”.

The five megatrends they identify in the report are;

1. More from less. This relates to the world’s depleting natural resources and increasing demand for those resources through economic and population growth. Coming decades will see a focus on resource use efficiency. 
2. A personal touch. Growth of the services sector of western economies is being followed by a second wave of innovation aimed at tailoring and targeting services. 
3. Divergent demographics. The populations of OECD countries are ageing and experiencing lifestyle and diet related health problems. At the same time there are high fertility rates and problems of not enough food for millions in poor countries.
4. On the move. People are changing jobs and careers more often, moving house more often, commuting further to work and travelling around the world more often. 
5. i World. Everything in the natural world will have a digital counterpart. Computing power and memory storage are improving rapidly. Many more devices are getting connected to the internet.

The trends themselves are not too much of a shock, however the data and supporting information that the document uses to support each one of them makes for a fascinating read. If you have some time to spare I would highly recommend taking a look.