OUR PRIORITIES
The work of The Future Forum is organized into three issue tracks that are critical to building a more stable, sustainable future for New York. These include the Future of Cities & Housing, Education & Employment, and Energy & Environment.
THE FUTURE OF CITIES & housing
Cities will absorb nearly all of the world's population growth in the near term, with nearly five billion people — about 60% of the world's population — expected to live in cities by 2030. While urban centers continue to be drivers of innovation and economic growth, challenges around shifting labor habits, housing, climate change, migration, and strains on public sector finances risk disrupting the quality of life. From investments in housing, transportation, and infrastructure to sustainable development, resource management, and crisis response, leaders in New York will need to embrace cross-sector collaboration to unlock the full potential of the future of cities.
HOUSING | INFRASTRUCTURE | INNOVATION | RESOURCE MANAGEMENT | SUSTAINABILITY | TRANSPORTATION
THE FUTURE OF defense & diplomacy
In a fragile and fragmented world, the future of defense and diplomacy must harness the power of partnerships and prevention to mitigate crises and conflicts. Bolstering international institutions will be critical to strengthening global cooperation around shared challenges. Strategic investments, aid, and smart foreign policy can reduce the human and financial toll of conflict. In areas where diplomacy and development don't prevail, advanced defense technologies, particularly artificial intelligence and autonomous systems, will reshape military capabilities and conflict dynamics. As the speed and complexity of warfare escalate across physical and digital domains, establishing new global norms and guardrails will be ever more critical.
CRISIS AND CONFLICT | CYBERSECURITY | DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY | DEVELOPMENT FINANCE | FOREIGN POLICY | GENDER EQUALITY | GLOBAL GOVERNANCE | HOMELAND SECURITY | HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTION | HUMAN RIGHTS | INTELLIGENCE | INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS | REFUGEES
THE FUTURE OF democracy & government
With eroding trust in institutions and mounting fiscal pressures from underfunded commitments and changing demographics, political leadership must bolster fiscal responsibility, improve government services, and strengthen accountability. Reducing political polarization and restoring public trust requires a renewed focus on strengthening civil society and community-based initiatives that can bridge ideological divides and foster constructive dialogue across segments of society. Subnational governments can play an important role as laboratories for innovation, exploring new forms of public-private partnerships and approaches that reimagine the relationship between citizens and their government. A new generation of political leadership is needed at the local, state, and national levels to encourage public service, safeguard elections, bolster bipartisanship, reject illiberalism, and usher in the future of democracy and government.
CIVIL SOCIETY | ELECTIONS | FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY | GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY | NATIONAL SERVICE | POLARIZATION | POLITICAL LEADERSHIP | REGULATORY REFORM | STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
THE FUTURE OF economics & finance
The future of economics and finance will be characterized by increasingly interconnected financial systems and decentralized models, fundamentally reshaping how value is created, stored, and exchanged across borders. Supply chains will transform significantly through artificial intelligence, automation, and reshoring, with manufacturing becoming more localized, adaptive, and resilient. Immigration can help address labor market gaps in aging economies, compelling countries to compete for skilled workers through innovative visa programs and remote work regimes that blur traditional concepts of employment. Investment in infrastructure and innovation and public-private partnerships will be critical to driving technological breakthroughs and continued economic growth.
BANKING AND FINANCE | COMMERCE | CRYPTOCURRENCY | IMMIGRATION | INFRASTRUCTURE | INNOVATION | INVESTMENT | LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT | MANUFACTURING AND SUPPLY CHAINS | TRADE
THE FUTURE OF EDUCATION & EMPLOYMENT
As artificial intelligence and automation transform the workforce, the future of education and employment will be even more interconnected, blurring traditional boundaries between academic pursuits and workforce development. Educational institutions at all levels will need to foster creativity, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence while providing opportunities for continuous reskilling and upskilling throughout one's academic and professional career. Investments and reforms in early childhood and primary education are vital to providing high-quality education to families across socio-economic backgrounds. Higher education must evolve beyond the traditional four-year degree model, offering more flexible, modular learning pathways that allow students to stack credentials over time while working, effectively democratizing access to education, enhancing social mobility, and ushering in employment opportunities.
EARLY CHILDHOOD | EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT | ENTREPRENEURSHIP | FUTURE OF WORK | HIGHER EDUCATION | PRIMARY EDUCATION | SOCIAL MOBILITY | WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
THE FUTURE OF energy & environment
The future of energy and the environment will be defined by an unprecedented investment in the green transition to a more sustainable world. Investments will scale the rapid adoption of renewable energy, smart grids, power storage, and low-carbon modes of transportation. Leaders must ensure capital flows to developing nations as well, equipping all countries with the financial means to meet climate commitments. Markets must also recognize and reward the economic value of ecosystem services and biodiversity, unlocking vast resources to protect and restore nature. With climate change and natural disasters already threatening food and water security, displacing communities, and giving rise to conflict, the international community must invest more in adaptation, including effective resource management, regenerative farming practices, circular systems, and resilient infrastructure.
AGRICULTURE | CLIMATE CHANGE | CONSERVATION | ENERGY | FOOD AND WATER SECURITY | INVESTMENT | NATURAL DISASTERS | POLLUTION | SUSTAINABLE FINANCE | RESILIENCE
THE FUTURE OF public health
The future of public health will be transformed by technology and precision medicine, enabling better, individualized treatments while reducing costs and democratizing access through telemedicine and remote monitoring technologies. Investments in biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and data science will enable faster drug discovery and development, more effective disease prediction and prevention, and personalized treatment that considers individual genetic profiles, environmental factors, and lifestyle patterns. These innovations will drive significant breakthroughs in the fight against infectious and noncommunicable diseases, maternal and child health improvements, and other significant public health challenges.
AGING | HEALTH ACCESS | INFECTIOUS DISEASES | MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH | MENTAL HEALTH | NONCOMMUNICABLE DISEASES | RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
THE FUTURE OF TECHNOLOGY & MEDIA
Increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence systems will fundamentally shape the future of technology and media. They will raise new challenges around both the future of work and trust in information. The increased prevalence and perniciousness of misinformation across social media platforms will erode trust and discourse, increasing the importance of verification technologies to authenticate content and digital identities. The need for large data centers will create new challenges and opportunities for steady, clean energy sources. While technological shifts transform life on Earth, advances in space exploration will usher in a new understanding of humanity’s place in the universe.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | BLOCKCHAIN | CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND RESOURCES | MISINFORMATION | RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT | SPACE EXPLORATION | SOCIAL MEDIA
