Digital technologies are now widely used to create new products and services for people and communities in all parts of the world. These innovations address critical needs in areas such as healthcare, access to finance, and career development. This report explores the ways digitalization can unlock opportunities through a series of real-world examples. They demonstrate how medtech, fintech, and social entrepreneurs around the globe are using technology and connectivity to create user applications that transform people’s lives. The paper accompanies the Digital Economy Navigator (DEN) project, a global assessment tool enabling countries to understand their level of digital economy maturity, find opportunities for growth, and benchmark progress over time. The DEN study was developed by the Digital Cooperation Organization in collaboration with global experts.

What are the economic and social possibilities of the next decade and how can countries take advantage of them? The Future Possibilities Index (FPI) 2024 measures how 70 countries are leveraging six transformational trends that are re-shaping the world we live in. The resulting data and analysis informs new ways of approaching business opportunities, social development, and environmental sustainability.

In these times of economic uncertainty, executives say in a Vantage Research survey they must transform their finance function to prepare for unforeseen events by freshly appraising the fundamentals. The aspects most in need of improvement are technological alignment with the goals of finance executives and recovering quickly from business adversity. Executives’ priorities including investing in training people in broad financial skills and hiring more people for skills with new financial technology software.

The global mining and metals industry is vital to the future of decarbonization. The world will not be able to reach its net-zero targets unless the industry can quickly increase production of materials critical to the transition. What is more, it must reduce its own carbon footprint while ramping up output. This is a really tall order, but a global survey of more than 400 C-level executives at mining and metals companies shows a high level of confidence they will be able to achieve both goals: higher production and lower carbonization. The world must hope they are right.

The vast majority of companies in the world are small, employing fewer than 500 people. Are their work practices socially sustainable? Vantage Research helped the Decency Foundation, a non-profit, develop Nu Metric, a tool that seeks to measure social sustainability in the workplace through a self-assessment tool in the form of a questionnaire aimed at small-business owners. The questionnaire contains several indicators across five dimensions that consider sustainable practices in internal and external operations, as well as the company’s relationships with various stakeholders. By completing the questionnaire and receiving a score, small-business owners can assess how they rate as employers. The self-assessment dashboard points the way toward achieving excellence in the field of social sustainability.

The transformation of global manufacturing is entering an exciting new phase, enabled by a range of technologies. Perhaps the most important of these is fifth-generation (5G) telecommunications technology and private cellular networks, a mobile communications standard that connects not only people, but also sensors, devices, machines, factories, vehicles, ships and much more. The implications of 5G adoption are immense: Analysts estimate that 5G technologies could generate $12.3 trillion in sales activity worldwide across multiple industries and support 22 million jobs by 2035.

The global economy has changed dramatically in the past few years, and the metals and mining sector has transformed along with it. Other drastic changes can be expected in the future, perhaps even bigger than those of the recent past. The pandemic and the recent war in Ukraine have placed supply chains under enormous strain. Climate change has altered the economic landscape, turning the spotlight on the minerals sector.

The digital transformation of the finance function is heating up as the US economy emerges from the pandemic. This shift has big implications for CFOs who are creating value for their companies. They have a unique opportunity to seize the moment and elevate themselves to be architects of business transformation, in addition to their usual position as financial stewards. Will they take the chance?

Critical infrastructure, such as water and power utilities, transport systems, energy and healthcare is the life blood of the global economy. If it comes under cyberattack, the effects could be far more damaging than a hit to a retailer or a social media company. But how secure is critical infrastructure and can it recover quickly from a cyberattack?

Newsweek Vantage study finds three-quarters of large companies have set a goal of reaching “net zero” emissions, with nine out of ten aiming to decarbonize by 2030 or earlier.

Research finds that the biopharmaceutical and diagnostics industries in the US and Europe are poised on the brink of significant change. In a survey of over 300 senior executives, 70% said their organizations had precision medicine plans or initiatives in place. It’s transforming business models, requiring an entirely different view about how value is created and delivered.

The need for more diverse and inclusive organizations is broadly accepted today. Seven in ten respondents to a survey conducted for this Newsweek report say the topic is clearly visible on the strategy of their organization. Still, just two in five express that they are on track to achieve their diversity and inclusion (D&I) goals. And there is a stuck pattern emerging. Just a minority of those off track say they “could be doing more to support D&I”.

The circular economy’s central aim is to extend the life of all the goods and materials being bought, sold, used and discarded daily, throughout our societies, in order to curb extraction, pollution and waste. As such, it has come to be seen as a vital tool in the fight against environmental crises such as climate change, biodiversity loss, resource scarcity and pollution.

The oil and gas sector has embraced innovation since its beginnings in the 19th century, and its response to the digital revolution now unfolding continues this tradition. Powerful new technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud applications, have upgraded or overtaken old ones, opening fresh possibilities, efficiencies and opportunities barely imaginable a few decades ago. While some voices call for an end to the era of fossil fuels, the reality is that the entire hydrocarbon industry, like many others, is adapting and innovating at a rapid rate. For the next 20 years, at least, oi l and gas will remain key sources of energy, thanks in part to the sector’s investments in technology.

There is a great deal of white noise around transformation in the insurance industry. Leaders face the challenge of separating hype from reality. What do customers now expect at a practical level? What do the opportunities and threats presented by new technologies mean for my business? Where should I invest, and how should I equip my workforce? How can I best assist my distribution channels?

Over the past decade, a quiet revolution has been taking place in the world of investment; now, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing is going mainstream. At the end of 2016 around a quarter of all professionally managed assets were under ESG investment strategies and our research suggests that figure is only going to grow.