Authors: Barbora Kudzmanaitė and Oleksandra Yevdokymova
PPMI, together with TNO, implemented a two-year participatory foresight study for DG CNECT. The study aimed to explore the future of the European economy and society in light of ongoing platformisation trends. Taking a 2035 time frame, we explored nine different topics: future of the internet, virtual worlds, intellectual property, government as a platform, B2B industrial platforms, digital autonomy, personal data use and online identity, digital citizen participation platforms and digital health platforms. In parallel, the study also aims to raise awareness of the importance of foresight as a policy-informing instrument.
As part of the study, the study team organised 10 online and 10 in-person events with European Commission colleagues, topic experts and foresight enthusiasts. On 3 December, the study team held a closing event in Brussels, bringing together over 30 European Commission colleagues from across four DGs, the Secretariat General, and the Joint Research Centre.
Together with the European Commission policymakers, topic and foresight experts, the session focused on exploring what points of leverage the EU has in the face of increasing uncertainty and instability around the rapid development and growth of online platforms. Participants immersed themselves in Serious Games and took on the roles of politicians and businesses to explore different versions of the future and how to get – or avoid getting – there.
The supporting material for the session can be downloaded HERE.
Overall, throughout the 10-event cycle, we have engaged over 100 stakeholders to explore the future. You can read more about the takeaways from our sessions on the future of the internet, virtual worlds, B2B platforms, government services, health platforms and intellectual property.
The final results of the study will be published in 2025.
