The future of values held by people in our country
BMBF
2020
Z_punkt
Modern society is characterised by different lifestyles and a variety of values. These influence the actions of individuals, social groups, and societies. The Future Office of the BMBF Strategic Foresight process (Foresight III), consisting of Prognos and Z_punkt, looks into the future of value concepts in Germany.
The surveys make it clear that the respondents are characterised by the desire for a society that represents solidarity and justice. On a personal level, it seems possible to implement these values, including through increased voluntary commitment. At the societal level, there are signs of fractures that might affect this desire. These include persistent differences in income, increasing selfishness and performance orientation, as well as a divergence of values within Germany, which was the case for more than two thirds of the people surveyed. Equally, a decline in social cohesion was suspected by 60 percent.
Education, income, and political interest have a major impact on the assessment of social, political, and technological developments. Dependence on these factors and a gap between what is desired individually and what is perceived socially determine whether these developments are met with trust or mistrust. Values are predominantly influenced by one’s personal sphere as well as education and the working world. Social media does not yet seem to have a significant influence on values – even from the point of view of young people, they still played a subordinate role in the focus group.
Together with experts, six different future scenarios were developed that are designed to stimulate further discussion:
All scenarios are plausible alternative descriptions of possible futures and lead to the characterisation of different values.
The study was conducted between July and December 2019, i.e., before the Covid-19 pandemic in spring 2020. The available study results therefore provide a good basis for comparing, among other things, the effects of the pandemic with the previous results. An update of the study is planned for spring 2021.
The study is based on a broad repertoire of methods: a contextualisation of literature analysis was sought at an early stage via in-depth interviews with experts. The Allensbach Institute for Demoscopy conducted a representative survey to substantiate specific questions with current empirical evidence. In addition, young people were consulted in a focus group to record their opinion and to investigate the internet usage behaviour of population groups with different values.
The study shows that social phenomena can be produced by very different factors. Specifically, the scenarios also outline possible manifestations of many developments that were discussed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Read the whole study (PDF, in German)
Further links:
Study in English (BMBF website)
BMBF press release (in German)
More information at vorausschau.de (in German)
Our work within the framework of the Future Office
Partner, Director
Project Manager
A race to catch up - this is what Europe needs if it is not to be left behind by the USA and China. In the SPIEGEL guest article, Christian Böllhoff calls for a new match plan with clear priorities for the new EU legislative period.
In uncertain times, there is a growing demand for orientation. PEO® delivers independent figures. Based on our wolrd economy model we project the developments until 2045.
Growth in the German economy benefits the whole of Europe. Our study for the vbw shows that this is due to the size of the economy and its strong foreign trade networks.
Employees want tailor-made reconciliation measures that ensure work-life balance and not to face professional disadvantage as a result of their care work. These were the findings of our study for the BMFSFJ.
Which companies are already using or developing artificial intelligence? Which companies would benefit from the use of AI? Prognos created an interactive dashboard for one federal state.
Prognos develops a tool for an industry association that enables member companies to carry out risk analyses to identify sustainability risks in countries and sectors.
We have produced guidelines for successful sustainability reporting in accordance with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive for an industry association. The third guide deals with data management in accordance with the CSRD.
We have produced guidelines for successful sustainability reporting in accordance with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive for an industry association. The second guide is dedicated to the topic of "Sustainability Governance".
The study for the European Commission examines the impact of digitalisation on the employment situation in the individual member states as well as on the EU economy as a whole.
In his guest article "Move Europe - it's urgent!" in WirtschaftsWoche, Christian Böllhoff calls for Europe to reposition itself geo-economically in order to strengthen its position between the economic giants USA and China.
Prognos is one of the oldest economic research centres in Europe. Founded at the University of Basel, Prognos experts have been conducting research for a wide range of clients from the public and private sectors since 1959 – politically independent, scientifically sound.