Salvatore Aricò
CEO, International Science Council
Science has long been a beacon of progress, advancing knowledge and improving lives. Yet, as the world faces unprecedented environmental and social crises, it has become evident that science, as currently practised, is not fully meeting its potential to address the world’s sustainability challenges.
Climate change, biodiversity loss and growing inequality are intertwined issues that demand a bolder, mission-driven approach. To tackle these issues effectively, we must shift to a model of ‘big science’ that mobilises international cooperation, aligns around shared goals and prioritises impactful, actionable research.
Mission-driven scientific collaboration
The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set out an ambitious vision for global progress, yet the world lags on nearly every front. Traditional scientific approaches, though valuable, remain fragmented and siloed, failing to address complex, interconnected challenges. What we need is a paradigm shift: science driven by a mission approach that matches the global, intertwined, multifaceted nature of the crises we face.
Examples like CERN and the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO) have demonstrated how science can achieve breakthroughs through collaboration, substantial investment and a shared vision.
While research publications advance knowledge, the global crises we face demand real-world impact.
Transformative science model
Recognising the need to transform how we conduct and share science for sustainability, the International Science Council (ISC) has proposed a bold new roadmap at the 2023 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF), ‘Flipping the Science Model: A Roadmap to Science Missions for Sustainability.’ It calls for a transformative shift toward well-funded, strategically aligned scientific missions that unite scientists, policy experts and communities.
The transition to ‘big science’ requires several critical shifts:
- From isolated grants to collaborative missions: The model of funding isolated research grants must shift toward supporting large-scale, collaborative missions. Pooling resources from various funders (governments, international organisations and private sectors) will allow for comprehensive, global efforts that target sustainability challenges holistically.
- From silos to transdisciplinary collaboration: Today’s challenges demand expertise beyond natural science alone; they require the integration of social sciences, policy and community knowledge to drive meaningful, lasting change.
- From publication-focused to actionable science: While research publications advance knowledge, the global crises we face demand real-world impact. Science for sustainability must prioritise results that directly address sustainability issues.
Purposeful, collaborative science for sustainability
The ISC’s Science Missions for Sustainability initiative embodies these principles by launching collaborative pilot projects to test, and this is mission-driven. These pilots represent a new approach to science, with success measured by contributions to global resilience and sustainability. The ISC’s science missions are committed to purposeful action for a sustainable, equitable future — at a time when the stakes are higher than ever.
