Forum communities & initiatives
BT experts are actively involved in a number of the World Economic Forum communities and initiatives ranging from Technology Pioneers selection to Workplace Wellness. BT is actively involved in four Global Agenda Councils as well as numerous IT & Telecoms Industry projects.
Technology Pioneers
The World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneers programme has been running for over 11 years and continues to uncover exciting new technologies in the fields of Biotechnology/Health, Energy/Environment and Information Technology, Telecommunications or New Media.
BT partners with the Forum to select the Technology Pioneers that offer greatest potential for long-term impact on business and society. Jean-Marc Frangos, Managing Director of External Innovation at BT is on the Forum’s nomination and selection committee. Typically 30 Technology Pioneers are selected from over 200 innovative nominations.
To read more visit the Forum’s web site http://www.weforum.org/community/technology-pioneers.
Global Agenda Councils
BT experts have also been invited to join four of the Forum’s Global Agenda Councils on topics such as: the Future of Government; Internet Security: Media, Entertainment & Information Industry and Health & Wellbeing – which is linked to BT’s exemplary role on the Forum-led Workplace Wellness Alliance. Each Council, of approximately 20 members, is tasked with advancing the global agenda on the issues faced per topic with multi-stakeholder action-oriented programmes. Recent output from the Future of Government council was a report on “The Future of Government: Lessons Learned from around the World” .
Industry Projects
Last year BT continued its collaboration with the Forum on several industry-led projects including Cloud Computing, Smart Grids and Personal Data. The output and recommendations are summarised in several reports published by the Forum. Throughout 2012 BT is taking an active, high-level role in the Forum’s Risk & Responsibility in a Hyper-connected World initiative.
Risk & Responsibility in a Hyper-connected World
The Risk and Responsibility in a Hyperconnected World Initiative provides a platform for decision-makers to undertake coordinated action to set in place the risk evaluation, detection and response mechanisms necessary to protect networked communications and future growth in the online networked economy. BT is on the steering board and is a leading contributor to this project which kicked off less than one year ago.
To read more visit the Forum’s web site http://www.weforum.org/content/pages/risk-and-responsibility-hyperconnected-world.
Workplace Wellness
The Forum recognises health as an important part of long-term economic development and engages its members and other stakeholders to advocate health as an investment. BT is a member of the Forum-led Workplace Wellness Alliance and our Chief Medical Officer is actively engaged in a number of areas including Forum Reports such as “Enhancing Corporate Performance by Tackling Chronic Disease”.
Cloud Computing
In 2010, BT contributed to a Forum published a report which evaluated the impact of cloud computing technologies and highlighted the potential benefits of adoption. While recognizing the many benefits of cloud, the report also highlighted the significant issues that could limit the ability to benefit from cloud computing.
In the second phase of the project, the Forum focused on identifying specific action areas for addressing the issues and concerns that could impact the adoption and deployment of cloud technologies. A second report, “Advancing Cloud Computing. What to do Now? Priorities for Industry and Government”, was published in January 2011 and work continues.
Rethinking Data
Launched in 2010, the Rethinking Personal Data project is a multi-year project intended to bring together private companies, public sector representatives, end-user privacy and rights groups, academics and topic experts to deepen the collective understanding of how a principled, collaborative and balanced personal data ecosystem can evolve.
The first year’s work published a report in February last year on “Personal Data: The Emergence of a New Asset Class” and BT continues to contribute expertise to this initiative in 2012.
Smart Grids
The Smart Grid project is driven by the Energy and ICT Industry Partner Communities. In 2009, the Forum began researching the opportunities and challenges surrounding smart grid, publishing a report entitled Accelerating SmartGrid Investments. Work continued through 2010 culminating in a second report on Accelerating Successful SmartGrid Pilots. Watch this video to understand more about Smart Grids.