Summary: Make The Most Of IOT

The world is becoming more connected every day and opportunities for IoT innovations are expanding rapidly – and not only in the developed world, but especially in emerging and developing countries (see p. 8). This report shows that IoT applications in healthcare can, for example, increase the efficiency of vaccination programs (see p. 12), integrate smallholders into important services such as crop-insurance (see p. 15) and compensate for weak emergency infrastructure in urban disaster management (see p. 17). Although the possibilities of IoT applications are vast, the Internet of Things is also posing new questions and challenges for international cooperation: Which software standards ensure interoperability between different devices and networks? How are needs-based and efficient IoT applications best developed? Which kinds of partnerships support sustainable IoT programmes?

Drawing from interviews with experts from industry, academia and innovation, we have shown that promoting local innovations (see p. 22), enabling Public Private Partnerships (see p. 23) and supporting open source as common standard (see p. 24) are promising ways to help ensure that IoT realises its full potential in international cooperation. Turning these principles into workable policy guidelines and providing the necessary knowledge exchange platforms are essential first steps.