The Joint Research Centre (JRC) joined the United Nations’ Inter-Agency Task Team on Science, Technology, and Innovation for Sustainable Development Goals Roadmaps (STI for SDGs Roadmaps) in 2018.
Together, we have embarked on a reflective journey to integrate the SDGs into locally tailored research and innovation agendas, such as STI for SDGs roadmaps and Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3). Remarkably, these strategies have transcended EU borders, gaining traction in countries beyond the union.
The United Nations’ Addis Ababa Action Agenda acknowledges the pivotal role of science, technology and innovation in achieving the SDGs. The EU is firmly committed to the SDGs, which permeate all EU policies, including those related to research and innovation.
STI for SDGs workstream
The workstream on Science, Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Development Goals has been divided into two parts:
Sustainable development is a core principle of the Treaty on European Union and a priority objective for the Union's internal and external policies. The EU has committed to the global Agenda 2030 with its Sustainable Development Goals, which form a part of European Commission’s political priorities and are being integrated into all proposals, policies and strategies, with an ambition to achieve tangible progress.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development established the Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM) to support the application of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Joint Research Centre (European Commission) started collaborating with the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Team (UN IATT) on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) for SDGs, as part of the TFM and is currently co-lead of the working group on STI for SDGs Roadmaps and a member of the working group on capacity building on STI for SDGs.
In the framework of the STI for SDGs Roadmaps working group, the Global Pilot Programme on Science, Technology and Innovation for SDGs Roadmaps was launched in 2019 with an initial group of five pilot countries (Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Kenya and Serbia), to test and adjust the newly developed "Guidebook for the Preparation of STI for SDGs Roadmaps". In February 2021, Ukraine also joined the programme. The JRC led the pilot activities based on Smart Specialisation methodology both in Serbia and Ukraine. In parallel, the JRC supported the development of the STI for SDGs roadmap in the Czech Republic, which resulted in a mission-oriented roadmapping framework to improve the coherence and directionality of policy instruments and processes mobilised through missions.
In the context of the elaboration of the Guidebook and the Global Pilot Programme, the JRC has been collaborating with different UN Agencies such as UN-DESA, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNCTAD and the World Bank, together with other international partners such as the Government of Japan and the OECD.
With the aim of expanding the work and involve more countries in developing STI for SDGs roadmaps, the UN IATT workstream on STI for SDGs roadmaps has designed the Partnership in Action, which was promoted during the 2021 High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development under the leadership of Serbia and Ghana. During the 2022 STI Forum, the Special event 3 on Supporting national capacities and the Partnership in Action for STI4SDG roadmaps was the occasion to call for more Member States to join the Partnership.
In 2021, the work of the UN Inter-Agency Task Team on STI for SDGs roadmaps, including the Global Pilot Programme and the Partnership in Action, has been acknowledged and praised in two United Nations General Assembly Resolution n. 76/213 and 75/316, highlighting the importance of expanding and fostering collaborations, as well as continuing to disseminate the advances and best practices in STI for SDGs.
In 2022, the Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the Directorate General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA) of the European Commission joined forces to launch the project Science Technology and Innovation (STI) for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Roadmaps in Africa. The objective of the project is to improve directionality and effectiveness of STI policies to contribute to the SDGs, supporting the EU Global Gateway and in line with the EU priorities for STI cooperation with Africa. As a final objective, the project aims to strengthen STI capacities and policies to contribute to more inclusive and sustainable societies.
The STI for SDGs roadmaps aim to mobilise STI to address key societal, environmental and economic issues in line with the achievement of the SDGs. The roadmaps are strategic policy frameworks creating complementariness and synergies between relevant public interventions supporting STI implemented across policy areas and programmes. The project uses the methodology developed by the JRC to design policy roadmaps for future investments in research and innovation priorities.
STI for SDGs roadmaps combine the following characteristics:
- Leverage the STI potential of a country to address placed-based sustainability challenges.
- They are goal-driven, focused and prioritised, ensuring alignment with the 2030 Agenda.
- They rely on extensive participative processes, such as stakeholder workshops and surveys.
- They are evidence-based, including quantitative and qualitative analysis to analyse the STI system to address them, and forward-looking as they consider alternative pathways to address challenges.
- They are focused on informing investment decisions that mobilise STI for the SDGs
The methodological approach builds on the experience of smart specialisation strategies in the European Union and beyond and the adaptation of smart specialisation approach to the rationale of STI for SDGs roadmaps as defined by United Nation’s Inter-Agency Task Team (UN IATT) in cooperation with the JRC.
In the framework of this project, the JRC is supporting six countries namely Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles and Gambia. In 2023, this methodology was recognised as one of the implementing tools of the AU-EU Innovation Agenda and included in its roadmap.
2. Sustainability dimension of Smart Specialisation: contributing to SDGs through place-based innovation
The EU is committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As science, technology and innovation (STI) can help achieve progress in all the SDGs, in 2018 the JRC launched a workstream focused on embedding the sustainability dimension in Smart Specialisation Strategies. This new conceptual framework and methodological approach provides reflection and guidance allowing reorienting Smart Specialisation Strategies to better contribute to SDGs and the European Green Deal throughout the whole policy cycle. From the new metrics and diagnostic approaches, through inclusive governance and stakeholder engagement, to policy mix, financing and budgeting aligned with sustainability goals. This approach allows policy makers to localise sustainability challenges in different territorial contexts and translate them into innovation policies fostering sustainability transitions. As a result, key reports have been released on Directionality and Policy Coherence, Theoretical and Conceptual Framework, and Identification of STI potential to address SDGs.
