The 2019 Global Sustainable Development Report was commissioned by the United Nations to advance the scientific foundation for the transition towards sustainable development. In particular, the report called for transdisciplinary action and attention if we are to transform our future. To concretize and make this aim feasible, the report introduced six entry points and four levers for sustainable development. Building on these entry points and levers, the Transformation Labs seek concrete aims for transformation.
This is a new type of scientific congress aimed at bridging the science-policy-practice nexus for achieving sustainable development. The overall goal of the Transformation Labs is to identify research that can help sustainable socio-ecological transformations within planetary boundaries. The Labs are supported by a grant from the Novo Nordic Foundation and supported by the Future Earth network. The Transformation Labs process consists of five online events: a kick-off event, three sessions following the Delphi method, and a closing event. All events will take place twice to accommodate all time zones.
The idea is that researchers register with results they think can be used. Non-researchers register with the challenge they are trying to solve. We have a global team of young researchers that are synthesizing, following up on and collating the registration material/input from the (guided) discussions and preparing the final report. Already after the first meeting, we will break into smaller (than the 6 transformation areas identified by GSDR) more focused groups, where the aim at the end of the process is to identify what can be implemented where and/or what barriers need to be overcome to bring this new knowledge into use. In other words, you can use this as an international platform to pursue how your research can come (be “fast-tracked”) into use.
There is no travel or cost involved – only online participation in 3 relatively short on-line sessions (the first is longer but otherwise they are 90 minutes) running over the first 3 quarters of this year. Deadline for registration is 1 February 2023.