The context in which organisations operate is increasingly complex and continuously evolving. We face a deluge of data and information, some of it misleading or unreliable. The digital universe is expected to reach 44 zettabytes this year, that’s 44 trillion bytes of data. There is a need to identify and prioritise what is actually important.

The World Economic Forum has developed its Strategic Intelligence platform in response to accelerating global complexity to give users a better sense of the fluid inter-relationships between global issues and help them make more informed decisions. Over time, it has evolved into a data-driven, dynamic set of digital tools used by organisations across the world. It enables users to track emerging trends and create tailored monitoring frameworks.

The foundation of the platform is its 260+ transformation maps, which depict the most important issues affecting industries, economies, global issues and the SDGs, and situate each topic within a dynamic system of inter-relationships. The platform uses experts from the Forum’s network of universities, think-tanks, international organizations and other research institutions around the world to highlight the context and implications of the key drivers of transformation for each issue. This is augmented with machine intelligence that analyses and sorts the latest research and analysis from more than 250 trusted sources around the world. Because the Transformation Maps are interlinked, they enable users to understand each topic from multiple perspectives and track the dynamic interdependencies between them.

The platform adds new topic areas as they become relevant, such as the recent maps on COVID-19, Vaccination, and Green New Deals. South Africa has its own transformation map, along with 147 other economies and regional maps, including one for Africa. The maps also cover global issues, such as 5G and Climate Change, industries including Banking and Mining, it also has maps dedicated to each of the 17 SDGs.

The transformation maps are publicly accessible free of charge and available in Arabic, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese and Spanish. Membership of the platform allows access to additional analytical features, such as custom map building and a curated monitor feed, it now also allows users to access and attend sessions at Forum events. Strategic Intelligence is available through iOS and Android mobile apps.

To engage the Strategic intelligence team, discuss content contributions, receive further information about using the platform, or for any other queries, please reach out to Bryonie Guthrie,