Sustainability Science and Technology:
Linking Knowledge with Action

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Overview

The project, Sustainability Science and Technology: Linking Knowledge with Action, is developing partnerships and dialogues to link sectors and regions in science-based, action-oriented initiatives to promote sustainability. The project contains two closely related elements: a set of focused partnership team efforts to link knowledge with action in emerging areas of sustainability science, and a larger scientist-practitioner Dialogue to catalyze significant increases in the quantity and effectiveness of knowledge-action partnerships for sustainable development.

The two partnership teams working to articulate key science needed to facilitate solutions to sustainability problems are Sustainable Production and Consumption Systems (SPACES) and Vulnerability and Resilience in Practice (VARIP). The teams are working to illustrate the potential for creation and application of science through focused case studies and to prepare implementation guidelines to facilitate action. They are differentiated from other ongoing studies in related arenas by their focus on shaping solution-driven research and applications projects and their use of a balanced membership from the science/technology, development, and environmental protection communities. Each team will produce a solution-oriented, scientific synthesis/action plan.

An International Dialogue on Science and Practice in Sustainable Development aims to expand and deepen active collaborations between researchers and practitioners in harnessing science and technology for sustainable development. In particular, it seeks to provide an opportunity for deep and extended dialogue among members of the two communities for the purpose of jointly shaping cooperative projects; articulating R&D priorities; analyzing barriers to collaboration; and identifying the practices, procedures and institutions most likely to be effective in overcoming those barriers. These goals, as stated in the proposal, have been confirmed by the International Planning Committee and adopted in further fund-raising efforts. Building on the Mexico City Synthesis Workshop held in May 2002 and the Ad hoc Advisory Group report to the Consortium on Science and Technology for Sustainability (ISTS, TWAS and ICSU) it was agreed that the Dialogue should focus on four areas:

• integrated management of production/consumption systems;
• enhancing resilience and reducing vulnerability of coupled human-environment systems;
• harnessing changes in values and norms to promote sustainability; and
• reforming governance institutions to foster transitions toward sustainability.

The Dialogue aims to bring together participants from all over the world. Equal numbers will be drawn from the communities of sustainability "science" (including scholars, engineers, and health experts) and the communities of sustainability "practice" (including policy-makers, resource managers, development specialists, educators, and a wide array of other relevant stakeholders). The Dialogue emphasizes bringing together senior leaders in the field with a large number of relevant young scientists and practitioners from developing countries. The Dialogue will be held 23-27 January 2007 in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

The project is a collaborative endeavor involving scholars and practitioners, with leadership from Harvard Univ. (USA), TWAS – the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (Italy), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (USA), Chiang Mai Univ. (Thailand), Clark Univ. (USA), the Sustainable Europe Research Institute (Austria), and the Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (India). It is based at Harvard’s Center for International Development with an Oversight Committee consisting of William Clark representing the Initiative on Science and Technology for Sustainability (Chair); Mohamed Hassan representing TWAS; Shere Abbott as Executive Editor of the Forum on Science and Innovation for Sustainable Development; Jill Jaeger as Chair of the Dialogue; Roger Kasperson as Co-chair of VARIP, the vulnerability team; Louis Lebel as Co-chair of SPACES; the production-consumption team; and Nancy Dickson (Executive Director, Ex Officio). The Oversight Committee meets by teleconference once a month to discuss progress and strategy.

The project’s support is from a core grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation given to Harvard University, grant #2004-26318. The project period is December 2004 - November 2006. For more information see http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/sed/sustsci.

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