Sub-Saharan Africa’s agriculture, dominated by smallholders, struggles with low productivity. AI tools like Crop AI offer scalable solutions, potentially generating $6.1 billion in revenue, impacting millions of farmers, and advancing education, aligning with sustainable development goals.
As the Global AI race intensifies, we mapped emerging AI leadership across data, rules, capital, and innovation.
We studied the role of Systems Orchestrators in driving systemic changes on the ground to boost digital ecosystems and create jobs. We found that these orchestrators bring distinct advantages to transforming perceptions in the region.
In collaboration with Dalberg
Innovative businesses are key to sustainable development. This research highlights three companies: Husk Power Systems (sustainable energy), Nexsis (solar panels for essential services), and ThredUp (secondhand e-commerce). Insights emphasize the value of pay-as-you-go models, digital tech’s role in sustainability, women’s empowerment via regenerative tech, the need for government support in renewables, and maintaining consumer demand.
In this second edition of the case compendium, we cover three
enterprises working in the education technology (ed-tech)
and upskilling industry in three distinct emerging markets.
Women remain under-represented in high-paying technical and decision-making roles in STEM professions – a scenario that exposes the Achilles’ heel of the entire technology industry.
IDEA 2030’s report studies the link between digital inclusion and innovation. Key insight: As more join the digital economy, value creation focuses on affluent users, widening digital disparities. Policy interventions are needed for inclusive innovation.
Bridging the U.S. Digital Divide Fairly: An interactive Tool for Broadband Program Officers and Policymakers Who are Preparing to Expand High-Speed Internet Across America
Post Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover, hate speech surged. We examined antisemitism, anti-LGBTQ+, racial hate. Analysis (Mar’22-Jan’23) revealed: hate speech volume increased, discourse quality worsened. Despite slight policy shift, toxicity persisted under Musk’s Twitter.
With hateful and harmful content ramping up around elections and conflicts
across the globe, disinformation is thriving. With the Defeating Disinformation
panel discussions, we examine the implications and impact online platforms
will have on the global community and what we can do to improve them and
ensure that user generated content contributes to civic discourse, informed
societies and inclusive growth.
Ahead of the US midterms, Twitter analyzed trending toxic political themes. Pre-Musk, focus was countering misinformation and hate. Post-takeover, discourse quality declined, extremists emerged.
Examining 16.3M tweets (Feb-Oct ’22) from 5 nations on Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover, reactions shifted: positive to criticism, negativity to buyout plan, sadness on his control. Across countries, emotions followed Musk’s moves on Twitter.
Explore COVID-19’s effects on India’s digital economy, from lockdown challenges to the inclusion paradox. Discover strategies to bridge the gap and unleash India’s digital potential.
How can real-time social analytics provide a tool for inclusive policymaking? This report uses a dataset of over 873 million online interactions drawn from more than one hundred social and mainstream media channels to analyze public sentiment and emotion in response to the pandemic management of eight governments between January and July 2020.
In collaboration with Equiception
Recent global estimates suggest that school closures and unequal access to technology-based educational inputs used for remote learning will aggravate the existing equity gaps in education. ASER Digital Check 2020 captures information on various dimensions such as children’s sex, their school type, and their parents’ education level to explore this widening equity gap in education in rural India.
In collaboration with ASER Centre, Pratham India
Inclusive businesses use digital tech to advance global sustainability, worth $12-15T yearly. Studies highlight the need for trust, low-tech solutions, and environmental focus.
The under-representation of women in high-paying STEM roles is a vexing issue that exposes a systemic inertia across the industry.
Discover Ukraine’s Resilient Tech Economy Amidst Conflict. President Zelensky prioritizes economic preservation in the face of war, removing obstacles for SMEs. Tech sector fuels growth, accounting for $2B in Q1 2022. Learn how digital infrastructure, contingency plans, tax breaks, and security training contribute to its success. Follow our series ‘Imagining a Digital Economy for All in Ukraine’ to explore insights from industry leaders navigating the challenges. Adaptability, collaboration, and innovation redefine the future of work in a dynamic landscape.
How did Twitter react to the Roe v. Wade announcement from the Supreme Court? What does this mean for abortion rights in America?
Policymakers face the challenge of governing diverse data effectively to build trust in a flexible, ethical, and accountable manner.
US broadband expansion lowered Covid mortality, especially in metro areas. Internet access is crucial in the public health toolbox.
For Pride Month 2022, Digital Planet updates LGBTQ+ representation analysis in STEM. Affiliation disparities persist, with women in STEM and FAANG facing challenges. Younger STEM candidates lag behind college graduates in LGBTQ+ affiliation.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act allocates $65B to expand US broadband. We advocate a “people over miles” approach for equitable access.
Digital Pulse is a platform for measuring and understanding the public’s evolving emotional responses to breaking events. Conceived by Digital Planet as part of the IDEA2030 initiative, Digital Pulse harnesses unstructured data to gauge the reactions of various online communities across the globe to key events. Data gathering and analysis were conducted by Ripple Research, an IDEA 2030 affiliate, under the direction and guidance of the Digital Planet team.
We present Progress to Digital Parity—an interactive scorecard that tracks the journey towards realizing the goal of a digital economy for everyone, everywhere.
The needs of the global sustainable development agenda are both broad and urgent, and innovation models are central to addressing them in a timely, efficient, and scalable manner, from promoting inclusive growth and ensuring the longevity of natural resources to addressing issues across the state of the human condition.
Semiconductor blockades are powerful sanctions—but may not prove effective with Russia.
Despite strides in college attainment, Black Americans encounter obstacles in pursuing lucrative careers, especially in high-paying STEM roles within the technology sector.
During the online shift, global digital adoption surged, advancing us digitally by 5 years in just 8 weeks.
Value storage has costs: US cash notes at $0.26 each vs. Bitcoin’s $70 per coin CO2. Despite Bitcoin’s higher cost, cash notes’ total impact ($12.9B USD) far exceeds Bitcoin’s ($1.3B USD).
Global healthcare digitization varies wildly. Our study in 46 countries identifies virtualized healthcare opportunities, enabling lagging nations to leapfrog with digital tools for quality care.
Digital Planet explores LGBTQ+ solidarity in STEM for Pride Month. STEM grads express less LGBTQ+ on resumes. Women in STEM are twice as likely as men to affiliate with the gay community.
The US digital divide has sparked division. The Biden-Harris administration can bridge gaps, review access, inclusion, institutions, and digital proficiency for transformative change in a recovering economy.
In the evolving work landscape, how can we boost under-represented talent (e.g., Black, Hispanic, female) in high-demand roles? Where can organizations find these diverse pools in major U.S. metro areas?
US States expanded telehealth, yet 16 of them face challenges with subpar broadband, hindering digital healthcare access.
Digitally ready states thrived during the pandemic, leveraging gig workers for essential services. Yet, it revealed disparities and vulnerabilities in the gig economy.
BBC Digital Planet Gareth Mitchell discusses key findings from the Digital Intelligence Index (DII) and their implications for VR/AR personal data safety and identification and sustainability. With expert commentary from Ghislaine Boddington.
An interactive research report that indexes trust in the digital economy and its evolution across 90 economies during the COVID-19 pandemic. This report features a collaborative research platform that provides data and evidence-driven actionable insights to leaders in government, business and technology.
US parties race, relying on digital platforms. Public dependence on social media for news raises concerns about misinformation amid the COVID-19 pandemic, fueling a surge in digital crime.
US women earn 82¢ for every dollar men make, worsened by race and education factors.
States, amid surging virus, reverse reopenings. Digital-ready states endure lockdowns better, with strict distancing measures for effective COVID-19 control.
While broadband access seems to be the key factor behind America’s #DigitalDivide, there is more to it than that, namely Infrastructure, Inclusivity, Institutions, and Digital Proficiency.
COVID-19 deepens racial disparities, particularly impacting Black communities. Addressing inequalities is crucial for an inclusive recovery.
Digital platforms are crucial for business continuity during COVID-19. Washington excels in remote work, job transitions, and online unemployment filing support.
US States expanded telehealth, but 16 of them face challenges due to subpar broadband, limiting digital healthcare access.
Digital Planet scored states on digital readiness and virus control (Rt change) from March 16 to May 13, 2020, focusing on remote work feasibility amid the pandemic.
Digitally ready states implementing strict social distancing reduced COVID-19 rates. Urban areas provided more opportunities for work, education, and interaction in a socially distant world.
The Coronavirus pandemic is likely to shift the economic landscape in meaningful ways, reshaping the dominant forces in markets and economies worldwide.
COVID-19 exposes US inequality, with certain races over-represented in less-flexible, low-tech jobs due to limited access to stable internet and computers.
Despite 1.67M cases and nearly 100K deaths, US states vary in easing COVID-19 restrictions due to a lack of federal guidance.
COVID-19 reveals US inequality, with races over-represented in inflexible, low-tech jobs due to limited internet access.
Are countries around the world prepared to keep the wheels of their economies turning during Coronavirus lockdowns? Watch the Social Distance Readiness Benchmark video summary to find out.
During the COVID-19 lockdown, US States that were least digitally ready and had the strictest social distancing measures experienced the highest unemployment numbers.
Online public services need infrastructure and affordable internet. We scored 42 countries on digital services and internet access, considering lockdown measures.
Watch the video summary to learn more about the key takeaways from the African Leapfrog Index.
Even as COVID-19 cases continue to increase in the United States, reaching over 1.67 million cases and nearly 100,000 deaths as of May 26, 2020, many states are now beginning to ease social distancing and stay-at-home mandates. Each state is taking its own unique approach to lifting stay at home orders, allowing businesses to open, and loosening social distancing regulations, due in no small part to a lack of direction from the federal government.
Online public services need infrastructure and affordable internet. We scored 42 countries on digital services and internet access, considering lockdown measures.
How does COVID-19 affect various US regions? Digital Planet analyzed mobility changes in relation to the virus reproduction rate.
Remote work depends on digital services – telecom, e-commerce, digital media for communication. Countries need robust digital payments for transaction surges.
How emerging technologies and digital transformations can accelerate economic and societal growth in 6 African countries.
How prepared are countries to work in socially distant modes and lift lockdown orders during the COVID-19 pandemic? We examined this question by evaluating 42 countries that are significant in the global economy and have enacted social distancing measures. Some countries that were missing key data were not included. We scored the “social distance readiness” of their economies using three indices developed with our team
A Social Distance Readiness analysis of 42 countries measuring the robustness of their digital platforms; resilience of internet infrastructure to traffic surges; proliferation of digital payments options and percentage of workforce able to telecommute.
An interactive research report that indexes trust in the digital economy and its evolution across 90 economies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The African Leapfrog Index (ALI) is a novel framework that draws upon the primary levers that facilitate the translation of digital technologies into development and inclusive growth. The framework evaluates six African countries against a continent-wide “best-performance” benchmark to identify strengths to build upon and the opportunities to close gaps.
In this report, we offer a comprehensive framework that covers the essential societal outcomes and a set of benchmarks to measure the progress of any country on the journey towards a “smart society.” For countries aspiring to accelerate that journey, this report offers a dashboard that helps a country’s policymakers locate where the country currently is relative to the benchmarks and what its areas of strength and advantage are.
The Digital Evolution Index: Latin America and Caribbean Edition (DEI LAC) is a data-driven study of the pace of digital growth in 24 LAC countries across four key drivers of supply, demand, institutional environment, and innovation. It utilizes 99 unique indicators measured over a ten-year period (2008 – 2017) to create an overall digital evolution score and digital momentum score.
How emerging technologies and digital transformations can accelerate economic and societal growth in 6 African countries.
If the yardstick of effectiveness of any scorecard or ranking were tangible efforts, by those graded, to “improve bad ratings or maintain good ones,” few come even remotely close to the World Bank’s annual Doing Business survey.
Which countries help expedite entry, growth, and exit of technology-based businesses?
The Digital Evolution Index 2017 is a data-driven holistic evaluation of the progress of the digital economy across 60 countries, combining more than 100 different indicators across four key drivers: Supply Conditions, Demand Conditions, Institutional Environment, and Innovation and Change. The resulting framework captures both the state and rate of digital evolution and identifies implications for investment, innovation, and policy priorities.
The twin forces of globalization and digitalization have been the cause for much anticipation and anxiety lately; they have been the source of electoral outcomes, policy debates, and news headlines.
The Cost of Cash: Mexico report does more than simply estimate how much time and money Mexican consumers invest in access to cash. It also asks what groups in society are most likely to pay for access to cash with fees, transit times, and queue times; rich or poor, young or old, Northern or Southern, male or female, and rural or urban. It asks whether financial traits are equally important.
India’s economic growth propels financial revolution via modern services. Cash-heavy economy, low non-cash payments, high cash management costs analyzed. Technology, Aadhaar key for cash-to-digital shift. RBI, banks face currency operation costs. Report stresses payments’ role in inclusion, cash reduction benefits.
Explore the enduring relevance of cash in today’s digital world. Discover the reasons behind its persistence, including anonymity, control, and trust. Learn about the challenges faced by digital alternatives and the complex interplay of habits, regulations, and technology in the cashless revolution. Dive into a comprehensive study shedding light on the costs and benefits of cash use across various stakeholders in the American economy.
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The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University
