Determining a path to a destination: pairing strategic frameworks with the Sustainable Development Goals to promote research and policy

Abstract

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a major accomplishment of international diplomacy and vision. Beyond this, the SDGs represent a globally agreed on definition of sustainable development that has eluded researchers of sustainability, containing an expansive set of specific targets across social, economic, and environmental dimensions. However, the SDGs can be considered a “destination without a path”, because the SDGs are a set of integrated goals without a plan. Much research being conducted on the SDGs is focused on evaluating our status relative to the SDGs or determining how the SDGs are interrelated, however this research is rarely conducted within a larger theory of change and consequently may provide limited guidance on policy and decisions. Simultaneously there exist strategic frameworks to plan for sustainability transitions, namely the strategic sustainable development framework and the transition management framework, that can be thought of as “planning a path without a destination” because they have not been used for globally-agreed on definitions of sustainable development. I propose that researchers and policymakers “determine a path to a destination” by studying the SDGs in the context of these strategic frameworks. Doing so will allow for researchers to address complex social–ecological questions on how humans and the natural world interact and will also allow policymakers to establish strategic and evidence-based ways forward. I discuss two examples of this kind of research: one where understanding SDG achievement in the context of global change allows for the identification of strategic policy directions (using the strategic sustainable development framework), and another one where understanding policy priorities and SDG interlinkages can help determine how to structure institutions to manage and regulate activities to achieve the SDGs (transition management). Achieving the SDGs must be done while uncertainty is high and decisions urgent, requiring us to determine a path towards our desired destination.