Research and science are key to developing solutions for the urgent challenges facing our world.
With only seven years left to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), research funders and policymakers will need to focus on accelerating the impact research can have on developing urgent solutions to global challenges, including climate change, poverty and inequality, injustice and human rights, and gender inequality. Yet, at the same time, the world has changed profoundly since the SDGs were established in 2015 and is likely to see more major changes in the years ahead. How can we ensure that the research we develop and support is future fit and relevant?
This session, jointly hosted by the UK Collaborative on Development Research (UKCDR) and Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), will explore how we can create an enabling environment to support research and help advance Agenda 2030 in an increasingly uncertain world.
Participants will hear about emerging insights from IDRC’s foresight work on disruptors and enablers of research for development, and what this means for the future of research we fund. Attendees will also learn about a framework UKCDR has developed to enable more meaningful research impact. This framework highlights the mechanisms and structures that are needed to support equitable, high quality research that can be positioned to address the complex global challenges set out in the SDGs.
Following two short presentations, a moderated panel discussion will bring together five experts in research impact and foresight to explore how the international science community can apply lessons learned over the past years whilst casting an eye to future opportunities and challenges, informing the UN Summit of the Future in 2024.
Our speakers:
- Tanya Hichert, Strategic Foresight Advisor – Centre for Sustainability Transitions, Stellenbosch University
- Andrea Padilla, Research and Policy Officer – UKCDR
Our panelists:
- Dr Dorothy Ngila, Director of Knowledge Networks and SGCI at the National Research Foundation – South Africa (Science Granting Councils Initiative)
Moderator - Andrea Ordonez Llanos, Executive Director – Southern Voice
Panelist - Mark Claydon-Smith, Deputy Director of International Funds – UKRI
Panelist - Dr Charles Forsdick, Professor of French – University of Liverpool
Panelist - Francesco Obino, Director of Research Programmes – Global Development Network
Panelist
This session will be a virtual webinar delivered via Zoom. The moderator will facilitate the panel discussion and the participation of attendees in the conversation.