The UNESCO Science Report has a new partner. The Fondation Ipsen, which operates under the aegis of the Fondation de France, is contributing financial support to the next edition, which is due for release on 10 November 2020.
The seventh edition of the UNESCO Science Report will be tracking the latest developments in science governance in at least 140 countries. Dozens of experts from around the world will analyse the main policy trends that have driven – and hampered – the usage of science, technology and innovation for inclusive, sustainable development since 2016, against the backdrop of shifting geopolitical, socio-economic and environmental realities.
Dr James Levine, President of the Fondation Ipsen, says that ‘one can see from successive UNESCO Science Reports that governments worldwide have come to recognize that science, technology and innovation will be crucial to reaching their goals of inclusive growth and sustainable development’.
‘This type of monitoring report is vital’, he says, ‘as it helps countries to benchmark their progress towards their own targets for research and innovation and to learn from the successes and challenges faced by other countries in terms of infrastructure development and industrialization, the transition to sustainable energy sources, climate change mitigation and adaptation, improving education and achieving gender equality’.
The report will be monitoring early progress towards the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which were adopted by all Member States in September 2015. The report will also serve as a tool for international development partners seeking to develop or reorient their cooperation projects.
The UNESCO Science Report is the United Nation’s main monitoring tool for SDG target 9.5, which concerns enhancing scientific research and upgrading the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in developing countries, in particular. The UNESCO Institute for Statistics is the United Nations’ custodian for the indicators under this target.
‘Science governance can tell us a lot about the development path that countries are following’, says Susan Schneegans, Editor in Chief of the UNESCO Science Report. ‘UNESCO’s partnership with the Fondation Ipsen reflects our common desire to ensure that people have access to the latest information available on these global trends’.
Since the report aims to inform change, it targets a wide readership spanning national governments and local authorities, international development cooperation agencies, academics, the media, teachers, students and representatives of civil society. ‘Outreach to the public is also very important to us’, says Ms Schneegans, ‘which is why we have placed a lot of material from the last report on the Wikipedia website, in collaboration with the Wikimedia Foundation’.
Like its predecessors, the 2020 edition will be entirely open access, meaning that everyone will be able to access the content free of charge from the UNESCO portal.
The UNESCO Science Report 2020 will be launched at UNESCO headquarters in Paris on 10 November 2020.