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Influence within the EcosystemImpact

SDGs and the Scientific Community's Commitment: How to Collaborate?

The scientific community is one of the main stakeholders responsible for legitimizing, implementing and achieving the SDGs. What are the challenges to acting on these responsibilities?
Written by Thais Dibbern

Launched in September 2015, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) incorporate a series of goals and targets that aim to guide the actions of governments, enterprises and other society stakeholders in relation to the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. As they follow a science-based agenda, the SDGs demand the participation of the scientific community in general (Higher Education Institutions, research centers and laboratories, and funding agencies), considering the narratives related to the concepts of "mission-oriented Science", "mission-driven research", "knowledge-based transformation" and "action agenda for Science". These demands, therefore, position the scientific community as one of the main actors responsible for the legitimization, implementation and achievement of the SDGs, and there are a number of studies and researches that address this commitment.

Within HEIs, the adoption of the SDGs can be categorized into some dimensions, such as teaching, research, engagement with the external community, management and institutional governance, as well as through the establishment of internal and external partnerships and collaborations. I will briefly outline examples of how HEIs can incorporate and promote the SDGs in each of these dimensions, and present the main challenges involved in the implementation of these activities.

SDGs at the university level

In the teaching dimension, the literature shows that HEIs can devote themselves to incorporating topics related to sustainable development in the teaching curricula of undergraduate and postgraduate courses (Disterheft et al., 2013; GUNI, 2019; ISCN, 2018; Unesco, 2017). There is a demand for incorporating this topic into advanced knowledge production, especially in individual disciplines (such as health, demography, governance, digitalization, and urbanization), as well as in interdisciplinary research with the aim of creating new knowledge (GUNI, 2019; Ruiz-Mallén & Heras, 2020).

Research is encouraged around issues concerning poverty, hunger, and health; health, sanitation, and inequalities; poverty and climate; health and economy; and renewables in cities, among others (Nakicenovic et al., 2018). Considering the possibilities of collaboration with other stakeholders in the scientific community and also in the external community, the research dimension gains special relevance when we analyze the role of HEIs in achieving the SDGs.

In the dimension of University-community engagement (and university extension), we can observe studies that deal with the social commitment of these institutions in relation to their external community, considering the local, regional, national, and international contexts (Calazans et al., 2019; GUNI, 2019). Community engagement is, in fact, one of the main ways through which HEIs can contribute to achieving the SDGs, since it encourages dialogue and connection with actors outside the academic community (such as the local community). Therefore, it is from this dimension that HEIs can interact with governments, non-governmental organizations, companies and civil society associations, aiming at the development and execution of joint projects and research.

In terms of management and governance, the literature presents that the SDGs should be considered as a strategic guideline to be implemented by these institutions. Therefore, institutional policies, in addition to their mission and vision, should consider the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of the SDGs, transforming HEIs as spaces that seek to achieve these objectives and goals institutionally.

Finally, considering SDG 17, HEIs are required to establish partnerships and collaborations with several civil society stakeholders (considering those from the scientific community and also external ones). Such partnerships allow the transfer and sharing of knowledge, technologies, and practices that can help achieve the SDGs both locally, nationally, and internationally (ISC, 2020; SDSN Australia/Pacific, 2017).

Implementation challenges

In normative terms, the scientific community is called to contribute to the achievement of the SDGs through a series of actions, aiming at the production and dissemination of knowledge and technologies.

In general, we can say in the scope of HEIs, contributions are expected in terms of:

  • Knowledge production/Research: Mobilization of existing knowledge, as well as generation and dissemination of new knowledge and technologies, considering all areas of knowledge (disciplinary and interdisciplinary fields);
  • University-community engagement/University extension: Establishment of cooperation and partnerships among universities, government, companies, and civil society;
  • Expertise and collaborations: Construction of networks among experts and policymakers, aiming the implementation of political actions guided by scientific knowledge;
  • Communication: Scientific communication and dissemination of knowledge to the whole community (local, regional, national and international);
  • Education/Teaching: Integration of disciplines through the adoption of an interdisciplinary approach, in addition to the adoption of the premises related to Education for Sustainable Development in the teaching curriculum of higher education courses (undergraduate and postgraduate level);
  • Institutional action/Management and governance: Incorporating the SDGs in strategic policies, research agendas and financial lines.

    • However, a series of challenges can be summarized, considering the performance of these institutions in favor of the SDGs.

    The first challenge refers to the monitoring and evaluation of the actions carried out in the institutions’ scopes. The lack of data can make it difficult to identify the activities developed in the aforementioned dimensions.

    The second refers to the financial and material resources used in the activities developed by these institutions. The lack of resources can hinder and even slow down the development of activities in favor of the SDGs.

    The third challenge is related to the mapping of local and internal demands of the academic community, as well as the adaptation of the SDG agenda to this context. That is, considering both the needs coming from the scientific community itself, and the needs of its local community. Therefore, it is necessary to recognize that as it is a hegemonic agenda, the SDGs do not incorporate all socioeconomic and environmental issues in all regions of the world. Adaptations must be considered in order to achieve the necessary welfare and conditions for the HEI's external community.

    Finally, the fourth challenge refers to the establishment of partnerships and collaborations with other society actors, considering the dimension of University-community engagement. The establishment of collaborations in the North-South and, especially, South-South contexts is encouraged, taking into account the perspective of the geopolitics of knowledge. In other words, collaborations between countries of the North and South must be preserved, without forgetting the particularities that exist among the countries of the Global South.

    As an example of action, we can highlight the activities developed by some international scientific associations, such as the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), the International Science Council (ISC) and the Global University Network for Innovation (GUNi), that work both through the production of knowledge about the SDGs and through activities with other civil society actors, such as governments and non-governmental organizations from North and South countries (Dibbern & Serafim, 2021).

    In summary, HEIs share a relevant role in the incorporation and achievement of the SDGs. Among their main contributions, we can highlight the research and University-community engagement dimensions. However, there are several challenges facing its various forms of contribution, especially when considering the particularities of each HEI and region. Despite these challenges, HEIs must strive to achieve the SDGs, respecting their particularities and contexts.


    Bibliography

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    Keywords

    Sustainable Development Goals SDGs Scientific Community Research Community Engagement
    About the author

    Thais Dibbern
    PhD candidate, Department of Science and Technology Policy, University of Campinas (Brazil)

    Thais Dibbern is a PhD candidate in Science and Technology Policy at University of Campinas (Brazil). Her research interests include higher education policy, public policy and institutional analysis, science and technology studies, knowledge production and sustainability.

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