"MEP 2025": Preparing the Future Work Environment for Members of the European Parliament - Identifying Future Trends in Technology which may Impact on Society and therefore on EP work Structures and Processes

The European Parliament is confronted by a number of challenging questions with regard to the future organisation of its work, and the ways in which this can be facilitated by Information and Communication Technology (ICT). This study is largely literature review-based. While the study is part of a broader exercise ambitiously entitled "MEP 2025", this investigation shows that the speed of change in both technology and democratic developments means that looking as far as a decade and a half ahead poses substantial challenges. In fact, more different forms of foresight analysis and study, conducted more regularly, might ultimately serve the European Parliament more effectively. Regular reviews of the future of “democratic innovation” are therefore proposed by the study.

The European Parliament is confronted by a number of challenging questions with regard to the future organisation of its work, and the ways in which this can be facilitated by Information and Communication Technology (ICT). This study is largely literature review-based. While the study is part of a broader exercise ambitiously entitled "MEP 2025", this investigation shows that the speed of change in both technology and democratic developments means that looking as far as a decade and a half ahead poses substantial challenges. In fact, more different forms of foresight analysis and study, conducted more regularly, might ultimately serve the European Parliament more effectively. Regular reviews of the future of “democratic innovation” are therefore proposed by the study.