This perspective is a qualitative meta-analysis study using a critical interpretive synthesis that narrates three future and equally plausible scenarios of social and economic development in the State of Kuwait over the next 15 years. The first scenario follows what we call the ‘Sustainable Growth’ model as defined by the United Nations Development Goals and the Kuwait Vision 2035 presented by the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. As a polar opposite, the next scenario is what we call the ‘Mismanaged Resourced-Based Autocracy’ model, a negative reflection of the worst-case scenario. The third scenario is in between these two, and we call it the ‘Equality of Outcome Between Societal Groups’ model. So as not to lay blame for past actions or point fingers, which could prove counterproductive to a consensus-building process for needed actions, we chose to use the pasts of other countries for future projections for the State of Kuwait. Our search through recent socio-economic pasts revealed that Singapore was the best fit for the first scenario, Venezuela for the second, and Lebanon for the third. All these countries became fully independent at approximately the same time as the State of Kuwait and share many other similarities. The three future projections were used as input variables to the outcome, which was a bottom-up and top-down consensus-making process regarding utilitarian action for Kuwait to be used by Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), Think-Tanks, Development Agencies, the government and the parliament.

This research is in response to a Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS) call for basic and applied research proposals in education for Kuwait. The Kuwait tertiary sector requires a better understanding of the role of educational technology and open access resources. This research proposal outlines the systematic collection of data from academics, students and administrators to enable better decision making within tertiary institutions and across the tertiary sector.

This study is a qualitative meta-analysis employing a critical interpretive synthesis to describe three equally probable future social and economic growth scenarios for the State of Kuwait over the next 15 years. The first scenario adheres to what we refer to as the “Sustainable Growth” Model, as stated by the United Nations Development Goals and the Kuwait Vision 2035 presented by His Majesty the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. As the polar opposite of the worst-case scenario, the next scenario is the ‘Mismanaged Resource-Based Autocracy’ Model, which reflects the negative. The third scenario, which we refer to as the ‘Equality of Result amongst Social Groups’ Model, falls between the first two. In order to avoid assigning blame for past deeds or pointing fingers, which could be unhelpful to a consensus-building process for necessary actions, we chose to use the pasts of other nations to forecast the future of the State of Kuwait. Singapore was the best fit for the first scenario, Venezuela for the second, and Lebanon for the third, according to our examination of recent socioeconomic histories. All of these nations attained independence about the same period as the State of Kuwait and share numerous other commonalities. The three future projections served as input variables for a bottom-up and top-down consensus-building procedure regarding utilitarian action in Kuwait.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, heavily reliant on oil revenues, have long aimed to diversify their economies to mitigate the volatility of global oil prices and foster sustainable growth. Two countries, Saudi Arabia, representing the biggest economy, and Kuwait, the third biggest economy in the GCC, were chosen based on their promising economic visions, while being considered as the more historically conservative countries. Both countries represent case studies to reflect on the effectiveness of their diversification measures on GDP/capita as one of the main macroeconomic indicators for prosperity. The paper aims to use time series data over the period 2000–2024 for both countries to reflect the diversification efforts on GDP per capita. A straightforward multivariate regression model is employed, utilizing the value-added contributions of the three primary sectors—industry, agriculture, and services—to examine whether recent economic transformations and policy reforms have influenced GDP per capita and to identify in which country reforms exerted the greatest impact. Findings are expected to reflect a bigger impact of diversification aims on GDP/capita in Saudi Arabia due to the pace of reforms that have been implemented. This research shall provide valuable insights for policymakers, highlighting the need to promote policy reforms to foster sustainable economic growth. The outcome of this study will provide hydrocarbon-dependent GCC economies with an updated, replicable methodological framework to support a better formulation of policy and strategy connecting digital transformation and sustainability agendas in line with efforts related to the Saudi Vision 2030 and Kuwait Vision 2035, which shall present a benchmark that can be applicable for the other GCC economies.