Open Access Journal

ISSN: 2183-2463

Article | Open Access

Scientific Knowledge Integration and the Implementation of the SDGs: Comparing Strategies of Sustainability Networks

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Abstract:  Although there is a broad agreement on the importance of scientific knowledge for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, high levels of uncertainty and debate about what counts as knowledge challenge the use of research for political decision-making. Hence, the question arises, which strategies of scientific knowledge integration are adopted by science-based actor-networks that seek to enhance evidence in sustainability governance. In this article, I study the Sustainable Development Solution Network (SDSN) engaged in different institutional settings and policy fields. With a qualitative document analysis, I compare the overall structure, objectives, thematic focus, formal knowledge processes, and outputs of 22 national sub-networks of the global SDSN in order to elucidate how these initiatives integrate contested sustainability knowledge underpinning the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. My findings suggest that most SDSNs adopt solution-oriented knowledge integration strategies but also that networks in countries with better overall SDG performance tend to adopt assessment-oriented and learning-oriented strategies. In reflecting on these results in the context of the current literature on knowledge integration in sustainability governance, I argue that science–policy interfaces are shaped by the intentional and dynamic interactions of actors within their institutional setting and policy environment, and propose pathways for further research.

Keywords:  expertise; global actor networks; knowledge integration; knowledge networks; SDG; sustainable development; sustainability governance

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.v9i1.3630


© Ulrike Zeigermann. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits any use, distribution, and reproduction of the work without further permission provided the original author(s) and source are credited.