Assessing Future Readiness
Future Readiness Economic Index
When historians look back on the early part of the 21st century, it is likely that one of the distinguishing features they identify will be the rapid wave of digitalisation that swept the planet.
Recognising that our current time presents a unique chance to widen and deepen digital transformation throughout the world, Google launched an initiative called Digital Sprinters in November 2020. In it, the company proposed a novel framework that can facilitate digital transformation in emerging markets and assist them in becoming digital sprinters.
The present report builds on that initiative to provide countries with a tool for action: the Future Readiness Economic Index (FREI). With the Digital Sprinters framework as its foundation, FREI has been developed to support countries in assessing the state of their future readiness and their efforts to stimulate greater sustainable, inclusive growth with digital transformation as an integral factor. Countries will be able to use the tool to measure themselves against certain benchmarks or objectives and evaluate their progress towards reaching those goals.
The initial stage, Digital Sprinters, a Google initiative
Google and Portulans Institute are proud to announce their collaboration on this FREI study, following the publication of the Digital Sprinters report by Google on November 16, 2020 revealing that emerging markets are “facing a digital crossroad that was apparent even prior to the pandemic”.
The two initiatives (Digital Sprinters and Future Readiness) share a number of common principles and objectives. They also have distinctive traits, which reflect their respective origins and rationales. Their combination hence offers exceptional possibilities in terms of impact and visibility.
Both highlight the critical role of technology and human capital / talent, and the importance of imagining how they will mesh with one another in the future.
"Emerging markets have some of the greatest entrepreneurial energy in the world — and are poised to be the biggest beneficiaries of new technology in the coming years. From enabling Indian farmers to improve crop yields to helping Tanzanian small businesses sell to customers around the world, technology supports progress and economic empowerment. And with the right policy frameworks, emerging markets can become launching pads for future innovation."
Kent Walker
President, Global Affairs, Google
"Measuring digital performance today tells only a part of the story. Assessing the future readiness of national economies is critical to identifying who will lead in to-morrow's interconnected economy."
Bruno Lanvin
Founder and CEO, Portulans Institute
Geneva, Switzerland
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