 How are migration, climate change and education connected? How will the fourth industrial revolution, social innovation and ageing populations affect the future role of government? In an increasingly complex world, these connections can be hard to see, yet a systemic understanding of global issues is essential to today's leaders. As a global platform for multi-stakeholder cooperation, the World Economic Forum has developed a framework to analyse the interconnections among diverse topics, illustrating how developments in one area can impact others. By drawing on the collective intelligence of the forum's networks, transformation maps explain the factors driving change across industries, economies and global issues. For example, by disrupting every aspect of technology, the fourth industrial revolution will have a profound impact on governance and affect the scale and character of conflict. Both will test the role of government, which will also have to take into account the challenges posed by ageing populations in advanced economies. Transformation maps cover more than 120 topics. Each topic is defined by its key issues, the most strategic trends shaping that topic. And because we're not looking at topics in isolation but at systems in transformation, we highlight how issues depicted in other maps exert influence. The content is continuously updated by leading experts in the forum's extensive network. It is supplemented by a machine-curated feed of the latest research and analysis from leading universities and research institutions. And it is enhanced using technologies from fields such as machine learning, artificial intelligence and advanced network analytics. In an increasingly complex and interconnected world, transformation maps provide a unique contextual briefing to support more informed decision-making.