Project Introduction

The Engineering & Construction: Scenarios to 2020 initiative undertaken by the World Economic Forum through its Engineering and Construction Community and Centre for Strategic Insight has concluded its first phase with the development of a scenario report.
In the second phase of the initiative, the Forum intends to bring these scenarios back to today’s environment and consider their implications.

Why the E&C 2020 scenario project?
The World Economic Forum 2006 CEO Survey for the Engineering & Construction Community showed that there is significant change going on in the business environment this community is operating in, underlining the need for a long-term, multistakeholder, industry-wide approach to deepen insights into the future of the E&C industry.
Historically, the E&C industry is not a shaper, but responds to the needs of its customers. And most E&C companies plan strategically three to five years out, where most risks are already defined and tracked. By looking ahead to 2020, and considering forces that are not yet on the radar screen, companies can not only be better prepared but also more proactive in shaping the future of capital projects development.
To gain a better understanding of the possible outcomes, along with the key trends and events that might shape them over the coming years, the World Economic Forum and its Engineering & Construction Community set out to develop scenarios on the future focusing on “How could the business environment play out for the implementers of capital projects by 2020?”
The scenarios presented here are four very different, challenging yet plausible images of that environment in 2020. They were constructed over a period of one year and emerged from discussions and workshops with leading industry stakeholders from Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Latin America and North America. They combine regional and global perspectives, and encompass both general building and large industrial segments such as oil, gas, chemicals, transportation and power.

How will these scenarios be used in the second phase of the initiative?
In the second phase of the Engineering & Construction: Scenarios to 2020 initiative, the Forum intends to bring these scenarios back to today’s environment and consider their implications.
Together with its stakeholders – including clients, governments, academia and industry experts – the Engineering & Construction Community will use its shared understanding of the future for further dialogue to identify proactive collaborative actions to shape the future because the decisions we make today create tomorrow.
As an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry agendas, the Forum is ideally positioned to convene the international and diverse group of individuals necessary to do so.

We trust you will find this publication an informative, useful analytical tool. After reading these scenarios, we believe you will gain a valuable new perspective on news articles, industry information and general anecdotes. As Marcel Proust puts it, “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.”