The Regulatory Frontier Designing the Rules that Shape Innovation 2025

Images: Cover Getty Images. Adobe Stock Disclaimer This document is published by the World Economic Forum as a contribution to a project, insight area or interaction. The findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed herein are a result of a collaborative process facilitated and endorsed by the World Economic Forum but whose results do not necessarily represent the views of the World Economic Forum, nor the entirety of its Members, Partners or other stakeholders. © 2026 World Economic Forum. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system.Contents Foreword 3 Executive summary 4 Introduction: The new competitive battleground 5 1 The building blocks: five design domains 6 1.1 Defining boundaries that protect without constraining 7 1.2 Designing learning systems that turn evidence into evolution 8 1.3 Opening market access so innovation reaches users safely 9 1.4 Building shared infrastructure that levels the playing field 10 1.5 Keeping the law adaptive, so trust and relevance endure 11 2 Regulatory pathways: from building blocks to strategic models 12 2.1 Three routes regulators are taking to design the future 12 2.2 Strategic coherence will define the next generation of regulation 13 3 Designing regulation: a source of advantage and trust 14 3.1 Regulation as strategic advantage in a changing 15 geopolitical order 3.2 Regulation as a public good for  innovation and society 15 4 Shaping what comes next: priorities for regulators and chief 16 executive officers Conclusion 17 Contributors 18 Endnotes 19 The Regulatory Frontier: Designing the Rules that Shape Innovation 2