In 2017, TIV wrote the background paper for the 17th Ministerial Conference on Industry 4.0. The paper attempts to lay out the central concepts related to Industry 4.0 and complementary technologies, their rapid progress, and discuss the attendant salient development and policy issues.

TIV’s experts established a central thesis of 4IR technologies capable of altering the social landscape, disrupting the status quo. The paper’s evaluation incorporated the social sectors explored in the report into the discussion and painted a landscape of how 4IR technologies (AI, Blockchain, IoT, Big Data, Cloud Computing, AR/VR) impact and will impact Latin America and the Caribbean.

TIV’s paper gave an overview of how governments around the globe, and in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), use emerging technologies under the auspices of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and digitalization to tackle climate change challenges through adaptation and mitigation measures.

TIV analyzed the implications of distributed ledger systems (DLTs), i.e., blockchain and other Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies for the music industry. A particular emphasis of the report involved a foray into how blockchain technologies could help artists in developing regions (such as the Caribbean) and provide artists an improved source of monetization, which is more systematic, transparent, and profitable.

The study's primary objective aims to bring awareness of the potential of Africa considering emerging technologies underpinning the 4IR (Internet of Things, blockchain, artificial intelligence, advanced robotics, big data and machine learning, AR and VR, 3D printing, bioprinting, and custom manufacturing). By demonstrating case studies of 4IR technologies where Africa is poised for rapid growth and cultivating the resources, capital, and infrastructure where the continent is lagging, the team of experts determine the social and economic implications of large-scale adoption of emerging technologies.

TIV’s experts co-authored the Uganda Country Case Study which provided insights on the ongoing implementation of certain emerging technologies in the agricultural sector in Uganda, such as use of the IoT, Big Data, drones and remote sensors for precision agriculture; use of Blockchain for land registration and management; and use of real time weather forecasting by using aerial images from drones and/or satellites. However, there are still many obstacles on the pathway to making the agricultural sector more sustainable and ready for full take-up of 4IR technologies.

The OECD Review of Kuwait’s Innovation Policy is part of a series of OECD country reviews of Innovation Policy, which provides an independent systemic assessment of the Kuwaiti National Innovation System. TIV’s experts were part of the core OECD team that conducted the review expected to help Kuwait adopt policies, programs, and instruments to overcome its resource curse and transition to an innovation economy based on human resource endowments.

TIV’s paper introduced a novel analysis of how the recent and growing advancements in 4IR technologies could benefit Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Specific to LAC, two significant challenges were explored, i.e., closing the institutional gap by adapting policies, regulatory frameworks, programs, financial strategies, and sector capacities and closing the information gap by adapting methodologies and instruments to collect information following SDG indicators.

​TIV’s experts analyzed the data system and the main challenges for big data and AI uptake in developing countries: data creation, availability, interoperability, and quality; human capital and data skills; infrastructure; and AI trustworthiness. This report was designed to help developing countries embrace the opportunities offered by AI and big data deployment, warn against the main challenges, and offer hands-on suggestions for regulators and policymakers in regulating these salient issues.

TIV authored a paper that will aid governments in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) in embracing the opportunities public sector data utilization and AI deployment can provide in achieving a circular economic model and achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The paper considers four SDGs, i.e., energy, sustainable food systems, reducing pollution, and smart cities, that could benefit from using and reusing data for data cross-pollination. Challenges of deploying AI were explored, in addition to good    practices to facilitate data sharing within the public sector, thus enabling circular innovation.

TIV’s experts authored a Background Paper that informed the 9th Ministerial Conference of the LDCs and served as the last global precursor of the 5th UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (UN LDC5). The paper provided valuable insights into the advantages of emerging technologies underpinning the Fourth Industrial Revolution to rebuild after the COVID-19 pandemic, achieve the SDGs, and bridge the digital divide.

TIV’s team of IP experts authored the first regional report concerning the gender disparities in the patent systems of APEC countries. TIV’s report condensed a wide range of information to better understand women inventors’ participation in the patent landscape across APEC and the importance of promoting and supporting women in utilizing patents as an intellectual property tool to foster gender equality, sustainable economic growth, and social development. The report provided critical non-binding recommendations for APEC member economies on encouraging and facilitating the involvement of women inventors in the IP system.

TIV’s paper was designed to offer policymakers and executive agencies in the water and sanitation sector a compendium of tools to ensure universal, equal, inclusive, and sustainable access to water and sanitation services. Through the paper, a team of TIV experts provided an overview of the global population's issues in accessing WASH and compared those to the population of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). The paper serves as a call to action for a blue revolution of inclusion, equality, and diversity, as they are essential components of well-being, upward economic movement, and equal opportunities for the underserved, underprivileged, vulnerable, and marginalized groups in LAC.

TIV authored a policy brief to provide UNESCO member states with a better understanding of the need for greater transparency in data usage for AI solutions.  TIV’s brief shows that regulators and policymakers are at a critical juncture in regulating AI. Without proper regulations, AI may be used to harden lines of difference because present-day data overlooks the impact of AI on marginalized (data invisible) groups.