How do different megatrends interact with each other? How can they impact future scenarios?

Megatrends do not develop in a vacuum and most of them interact. Therefore, it can be challenging to analyse them individually and it is necessary to engage in systemic thinking to make sense of their possible consequences.

One of the main benefits of the Megatrends Hub is that it provides coherent structure to engage with all megatrends that can be relevant for your issue in a 360° perspective. The Megatrends Hub also offers tools to help you assess the potential combined impacts of megatrends on any (policy) issue you might be interested in.

You can find here briefings and a technical report on interlinkages between megatrends produced by groups of experts from the Joint Research Centre and beyond.

Interlinkages for a Megatrend on Accelerating Technological Change and Hyperconnectivity

- a text mining approach

Based on 712 phenomena described by Futures Platform, the authors examined interlinkages between four selected themes within the JRC megatrend ‘Accelerating Technological Change and Hyperconnectivity’: tech vulnerability, human enhancement, energy, transport and mobility.

The most interlinked phenomena in this context are relevant to the value and security of data, particularly concerning electricity grids and the human body.

This approach, which can be adapted to other data sources, intends to support policy analysts in detecting and better understanding interactions between relatively wide ranges of phenomena. This, in turn, can help policymakers anticipate and address various political, social, economic technological and environmental implications of interacting phenomena.

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​Security and geopolitics in a changing climate

Impact assessment of interlinkages between the megatrends: Changing security paradigm, Climate change and environmental degradation, Aggravating resource scarcity, Increasing significance of migration and Growing consumerism.

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