The Global Talent Report: The Outlook to 2015 was written by the Economist Intelligence Unit and published by Heidrick & Struggles. The research undertaken for the study consisted of three main initiatives:

Updating and Expansion of The Global Talent Index
Launched initially with 30 countries in 2007, the index has been expanded to include 60 countries. It benchmarks the countries on their capacity for developing, attracting and retaining talent, both in 2011 and projected to 2015.

Execution of a Global Survery of Business Executives
To gauge corporate views on the talent outlook for businesses, 441 senior executives - nearly half having human resource management responsibilities - were surveyed in late 2010 and early 2011.

Conduct of In-Depth Interviews
Discussions were held with senior human resources executives and experts to obtain their insights on the most pressing talent challenges facing businesses and countries.