Changing Directions: Steering science, technology and innovation towards the Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract

This report presents the results of the Steering Research and Innovation for Global Goals (STRINGS) project – a major global study into the alignment between science, technology and innovation (STI) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It highlights a glaring mismatch between STI and the SDGs; warns that, if this mismatch is not addressed, it will undermine progress on the SDGs; and makes recommendations about how to tackle this imbalance. To help understand and better address the challenges of investing in STI for the SDGs, while embracing the complex relationship between STI and the SDGs, we make use of multiple analytical tools to examine STI-SDG relations for different types of actors, across geographical settings and time horizons. By combining methods from a range of disciplines, we provide complementary mappings, characterizations and understandings of the complex relations between STI and the SDGs. We are then able to build on these mappings and characterizations to illustrate and explain misalignments between STI activities and the SDGs. By combining these analyses, we gained deep insights into the way that particular STI priorities emerge both locally and globally, and how STI can be steered to improve alignment with the SDGs. Our results can help policymakers, research funders, academics, international organizations (INGOs) and aid organizations to make informed decisions about investing in research and innovation that will address the SDGs and ultimately create a positive impact on society.