This report from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, based in Washington DC, describes the personal and social benefits of the next wave of the information technology revolution. It describes how IT is the key enabler of many, if not most, of today’s key innovations and improvements in our lives and society.

With examples from around the world it highlights how cities such as Philadelphia are using “smart” recycling bins embedded with RFID tags to track and reward residents for recycling and to greatly increase participation rates. It also quotes an example from Kenya where the government launched an e-learning program to rapidly train over 22,000 nurses in the basic medical skills necessary to treat diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. While in Korea, transportation managers have deployed a network of wireless sensors to ensure the safety of bridges throughout the country.

The report details how IT is at the heart of driving change and improvement in areas such as health care, personal safety, accessibility for people with disabilities and in the development of communities.

For the future, there is a prediction of moving into a new and exciting stage of IT transformation where IT is “making the world alive with information” that will open up vast new opportunities for progress. To help policymakers understand how to best drive this progress, the report lays out key policy principles.

The full report is available at: www.itif.org/index.php?id=179″>