Sheila Moorcroft Archives - Page 3 of 4

SHEILA MOORCROFT

Sheila Moorcroft has over 20 years experience helping clients capitalise on change – identifying changes in their business environment, assessing the implications and responding effectively to them. As Research Director at Shaping Tomorrow she has completed many futures projects on topics as diverse as health care, telecommunications, innovation management, and premium products for clients in the public and private sectors. Sheila also writes a weekly Trend Alert to highlight changes that might affect a wide range of organisations.

www.ShapingTomorrow.com

Reducing Congestion – Courtesy of Technology and Business Model Innovation?

Congestion is a growing problem in towns, cities and on motorways the world over as the number of cars continues to increase. Two, currently separate but potentially converging developments, namely seriously smart driverless cars and shared ownership schemes, could reduce car ownership and congestion, while still ensuring – even extending –mobility and independence.

Ideascale2021-12-02T18:05:59-08:00February 1st, 2012|Categories: Trend Alert|Tags: automotive industry, Business Model Innovation, city planning, congestion, green innovation, infrastructure, mobility, new technologies, pollution, trend, trends, urban planning|

Learning by Doing

New forms of learning by doing seem to be emerging. Technology could play a role in finding innovative ways to enable skills development and greater understanding of personal actions, reactions and decisions.

Ideascale2021-12-02T18:05:47-08:00January 25th, 2012|Categories: Trend Alert|Tags: hands-on learning, innovation psychology, learning, skills management, Teamwork, Technology, training, trend|

Boom Time for Robots, but no one Else?

Is the current jobless recovery in the USA a foretaste of what the growing capabilities of robots could inflict on the workforce and the economy? Are we seeing the early indicators of the need for an economic rethink?

Ideascale2021-12-02T18:03:03-08:00January 18th, 2012|Categories: Trend Alert|Tags: trend|

Rising to the Challenge of Peak Population

In 2011, world population passed the 7 billion mark. While growth will continue, total fertility rates are falling fast and will result in slower population growth and possibly, according to some, declining total population. Lower fertility rates may bring a demographic dividend, significant opportunities but also challenges. Or, we may be doomed, as others would suggest.

Ideascale2021-12-02T18:02:51-08:00January 11th, 2012|Categories: Trend Alert|Tags: demographics, economic growth, globalization, sustainability, trend|

Mobilising Health Apps

Mobile health apps are set to change the way individuals can look after their health, doctors can diagnose and monitor patients, and medical research can collect data and develop their research. As health apps go from ‘dumb’, i.e. use only aggregated or limited personal data to intelligent using personalised health records and genetic data, a revolution may be underway.

Ideascale2021-12-02T17:56:32-08:00December 21st, 2011|Categories: News, Trend Alert|Tags: app, app development, apps, big data, data, disruptive technology, healthcare, market research, mobile, Technology|

Innovating with Bug Power

Clean water and clean power, especially in remote areas of Africa and other developing nations, are critical challenges. One piece of technology, Microbial Fuel Cells, (MFCs) could help address both problems, and bring the additional benefits of mobile communications - changing the lives of millions. In one incarnation, it might also reduce the scourge of malaria.

Ideascale2021-12-02T16:39:44-08:00December 7th, 2011|Categories: News, Trend Alert|Tags: africa, bacteria, clean energy, clean water, emerging technologies, energy, green energy, mobile, sustainability, Technology, trend, water|

Try Before You Buy – Virtually

Clothes buying, both in-store and online, is set to change with help from interactive and virtual assistants. Interactive mirrors, virtual changing rooms, a personalised fitting service and a mobile app all aim to help consumers find the clothes and the look they want more easily. They may also reduce costs for online retailers and help them reach new customers.

Ideascale2019-10-15T15:09:19-07:00November 23rd, 2011|Categories: Blog Archive|Tags: ecommerce, new technology, online shopping, Technology, trends, virtual changing room, vr|

A Graphene Revolution?

The discovery of graphene has not only won two scientists the Nobel Prize, but its extraordinary properties have triggered a boom in research, investment and superlatives. While the list of potential applications continues to rise, and the race to invest and research speeds up, a major challenge remains making graphene cheaply and easily.

Ideascale2021-12-02T16:30:35-08:00November 9th, 2011|Categories: Trend Alert|Tags: graphene|

Water, the Oil of the 21st Century – Pressure is Rising

As the world welcomes its 7 billionth inhabitant the pressures on water supplies continue to rise, often ignored and underestimated. The pressures on water supply present huge challenges, but also opportunities to improve capture, conservation and management.

Ideascale2021-12-02T16:30:22-08:00November 2nd, 2011|Categories: Trend Alert|Tags: conservation, global supply chain, resource management, sustainability, trend, water|

Not so Rational Decisions

Recent research into power, status, stress and aspirational gadgets reveals the extent to which decisions are anything but rational. Investment decisions and governance could be subject to new forms of scrutiny.

Ideascale2021-12-02T16:24:24-08:00October 19th, 2011|Categories: Trend Alert|Tags: decision making, leadership|

Food For Our Times?

Food trucks are continuing to spread in America. They started in Los Angeles and have spread to San Francisco, Portland, Austin, New York, New Orleans, and shortly Chicago, to name a few. As hard times continue, they may be the perfect answer for low cost eating out, literally. And for hungry entrepreneurs.

Ideascale2021-12-02T16:20:54-08:00October 12th, 2011|Categories: Blog Archive|Tags: food trucks, restaurant industry, service industry, service innovation, trends|

The Challenge of Relative Values

Two new research studies examine on the one hand personal values among young adults on the other the realities of corporate values and culture. Both have some harsh truths to tell. The two forms of ‘relative values’ these studies discuss, have implications for strategic flexibility and devolved decision making for market success. Coupled with greater transparency they may also mean that companies need to take a long hard look at their corporate cultures.

Ideascale2021-12-02T16:17:29-08:00October 5th, 2011|Categories: Trend Alert|Tags: company culture, company values, demographics, Employee Engagement, leadership, leadership strategy, management, relative values, trends, values based management|

Expensive Rubbish (where there’s muck…)

Resource prices are rising which should be good for waste reclamation and recycling: it increases economic viability, encourages new processes and behaviours. And provides new opportunities. Even the humble toilet may get a makeover into a power source. The War on Waste is hotting up.

Ideascale2021-12-02T16:14:28-08:00September 28th, 2011|Categories: Trend Alert|Tags: e-waste, green innovation, recycling, resource management, resources, sustainability, waste reclamation|

M-Pay lift-off?

We may be approaching lift-off for mobile payment systems. At present non-western markets still dominate the market, but a flurry of activity, collaborations and trials by major technology and finance companies may herald lift-off in western markets.

Ideascale2021-12-02T16:14:07-08:00September 21st, 2011|Categories: Blog Archive|

The Power of Thought

Brain computer interfaces (BCIs) enable people to control things by thought and nerve signals: they are emerging from the medical research arena. The technology of BCIs is becoming less invasive, sleeker and more powerful, with a growing number of applications from health care to gaming, smart homes to typing, medical research to market research. While not yet a mass market by any means, the potential for interacting with our surroundings in radically new ways is arriving.

Ideascale2021-12-02T16:10:33-08:00September 14th, 2011|Categories: Trend Alert|Tags: BCIs, brain computer interface, medical innovation, Technology, trend, trends|