Join the FCDO’s Frontier Technology Network

How will the world feed a growing population with a changing climate and dwindling environmental resources? What role will money play in a society that is digital, and where government institutions’ control of currency is dwindling? What will work feel like in a world where remote working is the norm, recruitment is no longer bound by nations, and global value chains continue to expand?

We know that the future is uncertain and technology is bringing about rapid change, but by opening the door to questions about the future and exploring them as a department, we can build and share the knowledge, network and learnings to come up with bolder, more innovative ideas for FCDO to tackle the most critical problems of our time.

The Frontier Technology Futures Network at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) hosts events and workshops that explore the future of several topics increasingly impacting FCDO’s work. This is available to anyone who works for the FCDO to:

• Work with others across the department to scan the technological trends that are shaping the future of key themes, such as the future of money, elections, or work
• Identify and share with key FCDO decision makers your ideas about what these futures might look like, and what opportunities and threats they present for FCDO
• Meet, learn from, and work with colleagues from across the organization as well as curated external experts
• Be kept up-to-date with content emerging from these explorations

Our latest exploration looked at the Future of Money; we generated Futures scenarios based on current research and predictions, before reflecting on how these might impact FCDO’s work. All of this we’ve packaged up and shared on the Frontier Technologies website.

Right now we are looking at elections: What will elections, as they expand into the digital democracy space, look like in 2025?

• How can the growing digital space strengthen elections as a key point in the democratic process?
• What part can growth in the digital sphere play in empowering citizens to resist autocracy?
• How do these trends present new opportunities and risks for the FCDO and how can we respond to them?

Through this work, we’re building a Frontier Technology Futures Network at the FCDO, a multi-disciplinary and cross-sectoral network that facilitates FCDO thought leadership, action and impact.

Everyone across the FCDO is welcome to these opportunities, especially if:

• your work is impacted, aimed at or shaped by the process or outcomes of elections
• you are curious about how technological trends will shape your work in the future
• you want to connect with colleagues from across the FCDO about how technological trends such as cyber security are affecting your work now, and in the future

Sign up to the Futures Network here to receive updates about events and activities, including the launch of our new Frontier Technologies research website, built for the FCDO

Got questions about anything you’ve read here? Email miranda@hellobrink.co. We’d love to hear from you.

This initiative is part of Frontier Technology Futures, which in turn, forms part of the Frontier Technology Hub.

The Frontier Technologies Hub is managed by a consortium of partners: Results for Development (R4D), IMC Worldwide and Brink. We are a team of strategists, technologists, and international development and innovation experts.

In addition to the Futures Network, there are three other strands to the work of the Frontier Tech Hub:

Pilots. We work with FCDO colleagues to fund, test and scale frontier technologies worldwide.

Studies. We gather and share learning, and deep dive into the positive potential of tech.

COVIDaction. We work with low and middle-income countries to find, fund and support effective technology solutions for the pandemic