Major Group: Science & Technological Community
Professor Susan Parnell from ICSU on behalf of the Science and Technology Major Group
Thank you co-facilitators, members and colleauges
Diverse scientific communities, including climate scientists, medics, agricultural scientists, engineers, anthropologists and urban planners worldwide are mobilising to support the definition, implementation and monitoring of the Post 2015 Agenda, you can read some of their specialist reflections, that have baring on the selection of indicators and the issues of resourcing the SDGs, in the ICSU report on the SDGs that is available on the ICSU website.
Today we come to highlight issues in the declaration of relevance to science and with a proposal to include in the Declaration an explicit recognition of the essential role of science and technology for realizing the sustainable development agenda at all levels.
What are your two main points of feedback on the draft elements for the Declaration?
1. We would underscore the imperative of partnerships for legitimacy in the global policy making and implementation around the SDGs
An enhanced partnership between policy-makers, scientists and other sectors of civil society is key to:
jointly identifying the critical issues that need to be addressed in implementing the SDGs,
to co-producing knowledge that effectively supports decision-making associated with the SDGs at different scales
to co-delivering solutions that are supported by scientific evidence.
Such partnerships require recognising explicitly the role that science plays in driving innovation, and also technology.
New knowledge derived from research is a vital part of the solutions to the sustainability challenges we face.
While there is recognition of the requirement for capacity-building in S&T under a few SDGs, it is clear that without a massive and broad effort of scientific and technological capacity building, particularly in the poorer developing countries, a successful implementation of the full SDGs framework will be in jeopardy.
2. As natural and social scientists we would want to highlight inclusion in the declaration of the imperative of a grounded evidence base and a robust system of self-evaluation - this is central to the enduring legitimacy of the SDG framework
Effective follow-up and review will be key for the success of the Post-2015 Development Agenda. The ability to report authoritatively on progress is key to mobilising action, promoting shared learning and allowing for course changing. This will require:
filling the information and data gaps
developing new metrics that can support a more integrated understanding of
sustainable development.

What are your two key recommendations for achieving an inspirational Declaration?
1. Partnership working across policy-makers, scientific communities and other sectors of society will be key to the success of the post 2015 agenda – preparation for extending global scientific involvement in the evidence- based approaches that are imperative for realizing sustainable development has already begun.
2. The Scientific and Technological Community urges governments to include a specific mention of science in the Declaration on the Post-2015 Development Agenda:
We recognize the critical need to harness both science and technology for sustainable development. We therefore urge Member States to scale up national science and technology activities and capacity targeted on sustainable development, and encourage stronger collaboration across scientific and policy-communities. We also resolve to enhance support for international cooperation in relevant scientific research, scientific and technological capacity building, knowledge sharing and innovation.
As a South African scholar deeply steeped in practice I can attest that is this 2 way engagement – where science is called on to contribute to sustainable development and where what we learn from the challenges of protecting the planet, of not leaving anyone behind or allowing undue advantage to go unchecked that has invigorated both science and society. Ideally such a science policy partnership will become the hallmark of how we implement the post 2015 agenda.
Thank you co-facilitators, members and colleauges
Diverse scientific communities, including climate scientists, medics, agricultural scientists, engineers, anthropologists and urban planners worldwide are mobilising to support the definition, implementation and monitoring of the Post 2015 Agenda, you can read some of their specialist reflections, that have baring on the selection of indicators and the issues of resourcing the SDGs, in the ICSU report on the SDGs that is available on the ICSU website.
Today we come to highlight issues in the declaration of relevance to science and with a proposal to include in the Declaration an explicit recognition of the essential role of science and technology for realizing the sustainable development agenda at all levels.
What are your two main points of feedback on the draft elements for the Declaration?
1. We would underscore the imperative of partnerships for legitimacy in the global policy making and implementation around the SDGs
An enhanced partnership between policy-makers, scientists and other sectors of civil society is key to:
jointly identifying the critical issues that need to be addressed in implementing the SDGs,
to co-producing knowledge that effectively supports decision-making associated with the SDGs at different scales
to co-delivering solutions that are supported by scientific evidence.
Such partnerships require recognising explicitly the role that science plays in driving innovation, and also technology.
New knowledge derived from research is a vital part of the solutions to the sustainability challenges we face.
While there is recognition of the requirement for capacity-building in S&T under a few SDGs, it is clear that without a massive and broad effort of scientific and technological capacity building, particularly in the poorer developing countries, a successful implementation of the full SDGs framework will be in jeopardy.
2. As natural and social scientists we would want to highlight inclusion in the declaration of the imperative of a grounded evidence base and a robust system of self-evaluation - this is central to the enduring legitimacy of the SDG framework
Effective follow-up and review will be key for the success of the Post-2015 Development Agenda. The ability to report authoritatively on progress is key to mobilising action, promoting shared learning and allowing for course changing. This will require:
filling the information and data gaps
developing new metrics that can support a more integrated understanding of
sustainable development.

What are your two key recommendations for achieving an inspirational Declaration?
1. Partnership working across policy-makers, scientific communities and other sectors of society will be key to the success of the post 2015 agenda – preparation for extending global scientific involvement in the evidence- based approaches that are imperative for realizing sustainable development has already begun.
2. The Scientific and Technological Community urges governments to include a specific mention of science in the Declaration on the Post-2015 Development Agenda:
We recognize the critical need to harness both science and technology for sustainable development. We therefore urge Member States to scale up national science and technology activities and capacity targeted on sustainable development, and encourage stronger collaboration across scientific and policy-communities. We also resolve to enhance support for international cooperation in relevant scientific research, scientific and technological capacity building, knowledge sharing and innovation.
As a South African scholar deeply steeped in practice I can attest that is this 2 way engagement – where science is called on to contribute to sustainable development and where what we learn from the challenges of protecting the planet, of not leaving anyone behind or allowing undue advantage to go unchecked that has invigorated both science and society. Ideally such a science policy partnership will become the hallmark of how we implement the post 2015 agenda.