Forskning för Agenda 2030

This report, commissioned by the Swedish research council Formas and produced by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), examines how research and innovation can support the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It identifies critical research gaps, proposes a four-fold role for science, and suggests structural reforms to the Swedish research system to better align with global sustainability targets.

• The report identifies four fundamental roles for research in relation to Agenda 2030: characterizing and diagnosing problems, providing technical and social solutions, creating dialogue and coordination between societal actors, and critically analyzing the goals and the power structures they serve.
• The study concludes that the SDGs are not precisely defined and lack clear distinguishing principles to determine which research contributes to them; however, they provide a valuable "common language" for sustainability issues.
• Research needs for the SDGs often stem from the scale of transformative change required rather than entirely new scientific questions, with a significant need for more applied and action-oriented research to determine which measures work under different conditions.
• There is a critical need for research into the interactions, synergies, and conflicts between different SDGs, as well as an understanding of international spill-over effects, to avoid policy incoherence.
• For Goal 12 (Sustainable Consumption and Production), research needs extend beyond the technical targets to include system-wide issues, social norms, and the shift from a goods economy to a service economy.
• For Goal 14 (Life Below Water), significant knowledge gaps exist regarding climate effects, marine debris, and microplastics, with a specific need for long-term data collection to clarify causal relationships.
• For Goal 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), the report emphasizes the need for critical research on the underlying assumptions of development models and the effectiveness of multi-party partnerships for marginalized groups.
• Proposed structural reforms within the current system include improving research communication through annual conferences, promoting open data platforms for environmental visualization, and developing an "effect logic" to track how projects contribute to specific SDGs.
• Proposed reorientations of the system include creating new thematic research programs, coordinating funding across state and private sectors, and increasing Swedish influence within EU framework programs.
• The report suggests transformative changes such as adopting alternative research proposal review methods to avoid favoring established environments, funding research led by entities in third countries, and shifting innovation policy away from incremental efficiency toward social justice and climate change.

APA

Persson, Å., Bell, L., Weitz, N., Chan, S., Maltais, A., Sturesson, A., & Sundin, A. (2018). Forskning för Agenda 2030. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/2018-002559-forskning-for-agenda-20301.pdf

Chicago

Persson, Åsa, Linda Bell, Nina Weitz, Stefanie Chan, Aaron Maltais, Annie Sturesson, and Anneli Sundin. Forskning för Agenda 2030. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2018. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/2018-002559-forskning-for-agenda-20301.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Persson |first1=Åsa |last2=Bell |first2=Linda |last3=Weitz |first3=Nina |last4=Chan |first4=Stefanie |last5=Maltais |first5=Aaron |last6=Sturesson |first6=Annie |last7=Sundin |first7=Anneli |title=Forskning för Agenda 2030 |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=2018 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/2018-002559-forskning-for-agenda-20301.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{persson2018forskning, author = {Persson, Åsa and Bell, Linda and Weitz, Nina and Chan, Stefanie and Maltais, Aaron and Sturesson, Annie and Sundin, Anneli}, title = {{Forskning för Agenda 2030}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2018}, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/2018-002559-forskning-for-agenda-20301.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }