What’s Hot and What’s Not for 2016

and

January 05, 2016

One of the biggest years for global development has come to a close, but it left us with plenty to look forward to in 2016 and beyond. Keeping with CGD’s annual tradition, we polled our colleagues to come up with predictions of what’s going to be hot and not in development (and otherwise) this year based on trends we saw in 2015. Have other ideas? Add them in the comments section!

And for a more substantive yet still upbeat take on standout moments in 2015 and what to look forward to in 2016, check out the latest CGD podcast.

HOT	NOT
Global Goals	Wildest Dreams
USAID administrator Gayle Smith	Stalled confirmations
Star Wars	Worm Wars
Giving 99% of your fortune to philanthropy	Committing 0.7% of your national income to aid
Cat bonds	Cats and cucumbers
CGD presidential debates	Cable network presidential debates
Innovative contracting	Corrupt contracting
Mobile phone surveys	Hotline Bling
SkyShares	SkyMall
Recognizing migration fact over myth	Letting fear trump migration fact
Jeff the Diseased Lung	Left Shark
Practical proposals for the next US president	Campaigning to be the next US president
Giving cash in crisis	In-kind contributions
Millions Saved	Millions unidentified
Pope Mobile	Volkswagen
Governments embracing data	Governments stifling data
Megaregional trade agreements	WTO trade agreements
Master of 38 (for now)	Master of none
More DRM	More ODA
Inflated footballs	Inflated drug prices
Polio-free Africa	Vaccine deniers
IMF quota reform	World Bank reorganization
Sex disaggregated data	Cold offices
Carbon tax	Cadillac tax
Alexander Hamilton	Aaron Burr
International climate agreement	Endless climate negotiations

Disclaimer

CGD blog posts reflect the views of the authors, drawing on prior research and experience in their areas of expertise. CGD is a nonpartisan, independent organization and does not take institutional positions.