National Quantum Blueprint

A roadmap to enable and accelerate equitable development of quantum ecosystems globally 

This initiative is part of the World Economic Forum's Quantum Economy Network.

THE CHALLENGE

Quantum technologies has the potential to drive transformational changes across digital society through breakthrough applications. However, the growing global quantum divide between countries with established quantum programs and those without will lead to significant imbalances in core areas such as cybersecurity, defense, technology, healthcare, finance, manufacturing and more. Many governments struggle with the breadth of how to navigate the development and use of dual-use quantum technologies, while aiming to maximize innovation and the need to align with the country's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Certain additional factors further contribute to slower innovation like insufficiently skilled personnel, high complexity and cost inherent in the development of quantum technologies and cryptographic risks associated with fault-tolerant quantum computers amongst others.

THE OPPORTUNITY

There are now several recognized initiatives globally to ramp up a quantum ecosystem at the national and regional level with thegoal of promoting Quantum information science (QIS) to generate new knowledge and technologies.

By following established best practices and global case studies and developments of Quantum technologies within partner nations, countries can ramp-up their quantum ecosystem, improve their industrial base, create jobs, and provide economic and national security benefits. By assessing the core building blocks required to develop a quantum ecosystem and outlining the roleof business, academia, and governments in doing so, countries can catalyze their efforts in harnessing the potential of this technology.

IMPACT

This initiative will create a roadmap across academia, industry, and government to help countries develop, support and commercialize their quantum tech initiatives, create new jobs and prosperity, and protect their national security, business integrity, and citizens’ privacy.

The blueprint will be guided by the World Economic Forum's Quantum Computing Governance Principlesthat lays out the first set of principles for the responsible design and adoption of quantum computing technologies to drive positive outcomes for society. This will aid policy makers and government institutions with a blueprint for developing and growing a national quantum ecosystem. This blueprint will draw upon best practices from nation states that have led the quantum technology sector creating a holistic quantum ecosystem enabled with the right tools for innovation.

For more information, contact Arunima Sarkar, Lead, Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning , World Economic Forum at arunima.sarkar@weforum.org