As part of preparations for the 11th Multi-stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals (STI Forum), the United Nations launched a Call for Innovations for the SDGs to identify breakthrough and scalable solutions that can help accelerate progress toward the 2030 Agenda, particularly in low-resource settings. The 2026 Call was aligned with the STI Forum theme, “Transformative, equitable and coordinated science, technology and innovation for the 2030 Agenda and a sustainable future for all” and focused on innovations contributing to SDG 6, SDG 7, SDG 9, SDG 11 and SDG 17, the Goals under review at the 2026 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.
The Call was announced on the 2026 STI Forum website and widely circulated through outreach to partners and stakeholder networks. Young innovators, early-stage solution developers, and underrepresented groups, including women and Indigenous innovators, were especially encouraged to participate.
The Call was co-convened by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) and the Youth Science-Policy Interface (SPI) Platform of the Major Group for Children and Youth (MGCY), in partnership with Engineering for Change, ASME Innovation Showcase (ISHOW) and other collaborators.
By the deadline, the Call had received over 900 applications from around the world, including a strong representation from developing countries and a significant number from Africa. The submissions reflected a wide range of technologies, business models and service innovations addressing urgent sustainable development challenges in areas such as water, energy, infrastructure, urban resilience and partnerships.
Following an initial screening and review process, a shortlist of 30 innovations was identified. From this shortlist, the United Nations Group of 10 High-level Representatives of Civil Society, Private Sector and Scientific Community to Promote Science, Technology and Innovation for the SDGs (10-Member Group) made the final selection of 10 featured innovations. 30 additional innovations were identified by the partners in recognition of their relevance, quality and potential contribution to SDG progress.
Together, the 60 innovations presented in this STI Solutions Book offer a snapshot of emerging science, technology and innovation approaches that are helping to address complex and interconnected development challenges. They demonstrate the breadth of creativity, practical problem-solving and partnership needed to accelerate implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in the years leading to 2030 and beyond.
