Trust in the future

Trust needs recovery and the active involvement of all the actors involved in it. If we want there to be optimal levels of trust in the future for the proper functioning of society, it is necessary to systematically address the greatest concerns of citizens. If organizations do not take steps to resolve these concerns, trust can hardly be regained.

Thus, the pandemic, unemployment, social inequalities and poverty, corruption, public health and crime and violence must be the focus of attention of all public and private institutions that want the population to trust them, each to the extent of its possibilities.

As general conclusions, the recommendations of the experts of the Future Trends Forum are:

Gaining citizens’ trust

In order to gain citizens’ trust, the most important is:

• Authenticity
• Rendering the service and
• Transparency

Four pillars of action

For this, the support of these four pillars is necessary:

• Integrity
• Skill
• Compliance
• Purpose

The purpose must be definitely geared towards the triple bottom line: It must not only be economically sustainable, it must seek:

• Social sustainability, with inclusion and support policies for underprivileged groups and sectors.
• Environmental sustainability, driving forward clean energies, minimizing pollution through their own processes, and supporting initiatives to curb climate change.

Technology

Because we live in a digital age, we must ensure that the technologies we roll out:

• Respect user privacy.
• Meet or exceed their expectations.
• Are free from bias and governed by widely agreed and recognized ethical rules.

Other recommendations for trust in the future

Other recommendations from our experts point to:

• Include the trust index as a KPI (Key Performance Indicator) of the organization.
• Create or participate in sectoral or intersectoral platforms that promote transparency.
• Create an incentive program for stakeholders who contribute ideas to increase trust.