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This paper discusses how countries’ vision for science, technology and innovation (STI) priorities has evolved through COVID-19. The analysis was conducted on a sample of 171 STI strategy documents from 11 countries that were released between 2013 and 2021. Depending on the context, these documents seek to build consensus, manage actors, communicate or signal directions for policy, or achieve internal organisational motives. Most of the documents that have emerged since the COVID-19 crisis focus on a dominant ambitious societal goal and specific technologies to implement that goal. For example, environmental sustainability is a shared goal across different countries’ STI strategies, but its specific meaning differs. Most countries’ STI strategies also identify digitalisation as an important tool to achieve other socio-economic goals. Inclusivity is prominent in agendas reflecting country-specific circumstance. Improving resilience is a shared priority and increased in prominence with the COVID-19 experience.

Co-creation – the joint production of innovation between combinations of industry, research, government and civil society – was widely used to respond to COVID-19 challenges. This paper analyses 30 international co-creation initiatives that were implemented to address COVID-19 challenges. Evidence on these initiatives was gathered based on structured interviews with initiative leaders. Existing co-creation networks enabled the rapid emergence of new initiatives to address urgent needs, while digital technologies enabled establishing new – and, where necessary, socially distanced – collaborations. Aside from funding initiatives, governments engaged actively in co-creation by granting access to their networks, advising on initiative goals and offering support to improve quick delivery. The role of civil society was important as well, and the socially impactful nature of research and innovation was a motivating factor for engagement. Harnessing a similarly strong motivation is an important driver of effective future co-creation endeavours also to address the challenges of the green transition.

Co-creation – the joint production of innovation between combinations of industry, research, government and civil society – was widely used to respond to the challenges raised by the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper describes 30 COVID-19 co-creation initiatives from 21 countries and three international cases. The template focuses on initiatives’ core characteristics, including information on key co-creation partners and their contributions, key outcomes as well as the initiatives’ size. The comparative evidence gathered through interviews with case study initiative leaders also describes what co-creation instruments were used, how networks leading to the collaboration were built, what type of cross-disciplinary co-operation took place, and what role governments played in the process and the procedures adopted to deal with the COVID-19 'exceptionality', including the urgency of producing implementable solutions. The information gathered provides a basis for analyses on co-creation initiatives during COVID-19 and for drawing potential policy implications.

Ce rapport examine l’évolution des approches des 50 principaux services mondiaux de partage de contenus en ligne face aux contenus terroristes et extrémistes violents depuis la publication du premier rapport en 2020. Des progrès tangibles sont à noter : 11 services publient des rapports de transparence spécifiquement dédiés à ce type de contenus (soit 6 de plus qu’en 2020) ; et les 5 services qui en publiaient déjà fournissent désormais des informations supplémentaires. Pourtant, les rapports de transparence traitant expressément des contenus terroristes et extrémistes violents sont encore rares et les services restent hétérogènes dans leurs indicateurs, définitions et fréquences de publication. Il n’est pas encore possible de dégager une perspective claire, à l’échelle sectorielle, sur l’efficacité des mesures prises par les entreprises pour lutter contre ces contenus et leur impact sur les droits humains. Le manque de coordination dans les exigences de transparence entre juridictions pose un risque grandissant de divergence des normes et met en lumière le besoin urgent de publier des rapports de transparence plus complets et comparables.

Online marketplaces matching third-party sellers with consumers are now key e-commerce channels globally. Despite their popularity and the benefits they bring to consumers, they do present a number of risks, for example when their third-party sellers engage in misleading marketing and fraud, or supply unsafe products. This report summarises results from a 2021 OECD survey of 28 countries and 15 platform businesses examining the role of online marketplaces in enhancing consumer protection. The report highlights a range of encouraging initiatives by many participating countries and online marketplaces to better protect consumers, often taken in co-operation with one another, but also identifies several key areas where more action is needed.

The OECD Going Digital Measurement Roadmap is an important tool to align countries’ priority areas for measuring digital transformation using common methodologies and approaches. It was developed in partnership with all relevant OECD statistical bodies in 2019 and amended in 2022. The Roadmap identifies ten actions to enhance the capacity of countries to monitor digital transformation and its impacts. The Roadmap reflects a recognition that national statistical systems need to adapt and expand to adequately reflect the digitalisation of our economies and societies, including from a gender perspective. It also highlights the need for new, complementary data infrastructures capable of monitoring digital activities and data flows on a timely basis wherever they happen.

The future is digital and enabled by globally interconnected and high-quality broadband networks. However, high-quality networks across the OECD are far from universal and applications across all sectors of the economy, from smart factories and hospitals to automated vehicles, are increasing the overall demand on networks and requiring them to evolve. Furthermore, to ensure everyone can participate in in this digital future, their expansion at affordable prices to un- and under-served areas needs to continue at pace. This report explores how surging demand is shaping future networks and identifies the four main technological trends that are driving this evolution. It then takes a closer look at measuring the quality of communication services delivered through those networks to inform policy making. Finally, it provides an overview of how policies and regulations are adapting to support the upgrade and expansion of high-quality broadband networks across the OECD.

Problems in e-commerce can lead to significant consumer harm (detriment), for example, when consumers have to pay more for a product than they reasonably expected (e.g. due to hidden costs); suffer from unfair contract terms; or receive products that do not conform to their reasonable expectations regarding quality or performance. In 2021, the OECD’s Committee on Consumer Policy implemented an online consumer survey in 13 countries to assess the magnitude of financial consumer harm arising from consumers’ most serious e-commerce problems. This paper summarises the survey results, highlighting, for example, that 50% of online consumers faced at least one problem in e-commerce in the year preceding the survey rollout and that the resulting harm is significant, reaching (after redress) up to 3.1% of the total e-commerce market size in some countries. The paper aims to enhance the evidence base for consumer policy and to help policy makers prioritise enforcement activities.

In recent years, a number of consumer product safety authorities have established product safety pledges with online marketplaces as a new way to better protect consumers from the risk of purchasing unsafe products that may be available on those platforms. Product safety pledges involve online marketplaces committing to actions to better protect consumers that go beyond their existing legal obligations (e.g. removing unsafe product listings within a specified timeframe upon notification). This policy guidance builds on a 2021 Communiqué from the OECD Working Party on Consumer Product Safety calling for the development of further such pledges globally and outlining key commitments for greater consistency. It provides practical examples on how each of the Communiqué’s four key commitments can be implemented and highlights strategies to ensure that pledges are successful in both the short and long term.