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We would like to thank everyone who provided their views on the Challenges in Global Sustainability Research
The consultation on Grand Challenges in Sustainability Research, which was open from 21 December 2009 to 21 February 2010, is now closed. Thank you for your reflections on the proposed Grand Challenges in Global Sustainability Research: A Systems Approach to Research Priorities for the Decade and on what international research coordination is needed to get the job done. Please check back here for more information on sequent steps, including the Open Forum in Paris on 22 June.
Grand Challenges in Sustainability Research is a global initiative centred on five grand challenges that must be addressed over the next decade if society is to manage the global environmental change that is now underway and cope with the change that we cannot manage. This initiative is a result of the first step of the visioning process, which began with an online consultation that yielded more than 300 research priorities and contributions from more than 1000 people from 85 countries.
About the Visioning Process
Earth system visioning is a three-step process spearheaded by ICSU in cooperation with the International Social Science Council (ISSC). The first step involved an online consultation (July/August 2009) that asked: What is the most important research question in Earth system research that needs answering in the next decade? Why? The proposed research questions posted online formed the background for a workshop held in September involving senior researchers, early-career scientists, science-policy experts and funders. The workshop resulted in the draft document ‘Grand Challenges in Global Sustainability: A Systems Approach to Research Priorities for the Decade’ that is going out to the global community through an online consultation (in the form of a survey). The goal is to produce a widely shared vision of the scientific priorities for global sustainability research in the coming decade. The second step in the visioning process will begin on 22 June 2010, with an Open Forum in Paris to discuss the institutional structures that will facilitate a new strategy on sustainability research.
- Draft document ‘Grand Challenges in Global Sustainability Research: A Systems Approach to Research Priorities for the Decade’ (PDF)
- Read about the Visioning Process
- Email us at visioning@icsu.org for general feedback on this process
- Go to the ICSU website
- Read the Science Editorial
- Read the ICSU Press Release on the Visioning Process
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* This area of research has been referred to as ‘Earth System Science’, where the Earth System is defined as the unified set of physical, chemical, biological, and social components, processes and interactions that together determine the state and dynamics of the Earth, including its biota and its human occupants. Although the definition includes humans as an integral component of the Earth System, this term continues to be seen by many to focus primarily on the natural system. For that reason, we propose to refer to Earth System Science as ‘Global Sustainability Research’ to make the human component of the definition explicit.
