Friday 9 August 2019

Research centres and UN join forces for Sustainable Development Goals

Seven universities and research centres are working with the UN's global development network to better understand ways in which science, technology and innovation contribute to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The 17 SDGs were adopted by UN member states in 2015 and address a wide range of issues, including climate change, extreme poverty, gender equality and health.

The project, commissioned by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), is being led by Professor Andrew Stirling and Dr Tommaso Ciarli from the University of Sussex and Professor Joanna Chataway from University College London.

Other organisations that are collaborating on the project are UN Development Programme (UNDP), the University of Pretoria, Nesta, Centre for Research on Innovation and Science Policy and Centro de Investigaciones para la transformacion.

The project aims to provide the evidence for how and where research can help best accelerate progress towards achieving the global goals.

Professor Andrew Thompson, UKRI Executive Champion for International, said: “This exciting multidisciplinary project will do just that, shedding light on what works well and what could work better, ensuring research is being fully utilised to drive solutions to some of the world’s most intractable challenges.

“It’s vital therefore to think about the goals collectively and what cutting-edge research can do to achieve the 2030 agenda by reconnecting society to the economy and society and economy to the environment. The need for integrated solutions, drawing from across the whole knowledge base, has never been greater.”