WEBINAR- STI Roadmaps for SDGs: paving the pathways for sustainable recovery and future resilience

Description

The workshop 'Smart Specialisation for Sustainable Development Goals', organised by JRC, was supposed to take a place on the 5 and 6 March 2020. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak the event was cancelled.

There was a big interest in the topic and we received a lot of registrations, hence we decided to run the workshop in the online format. We adapted the agenda to the present situation, we also changed the title of the meeting.

Objective

This series of three virtual meetings will build on this experience by discussing the role of STI for SDGs Roadmaps in the post-COVID 19 recovery context.

• Part 1 will present the achievements of UN IATT STI for SDGs work stream and will focus on the lessons learnt from the Global Pilot Programme for STI for SDGs from the perspective of the pilot countries: Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, India and Serbia and the UN and partners focal points: UNIDO, UNESCO, UNCTAD, the World Bank and EU – JRC. It will be open to the interested observers and the candidates to the Global Pilot Programme.
• Part 2 will focus on the implementation of the STI for SDGs roadmaps in the context of their contribution to sustainable recovery and future resilience. The countries, regions, cities and international partnerships will present and discuss the roadmap implementation experience based on the challenges and achievements in implementing smart specialisation as localised roadmaps for transformation and for the achievement of the SDGs. This will be a basis to propose suggestions on how to better use STI to deliver post-crisis recovery and strengthen resilience.
• Part 3 is proposed as a High-Level side event to UN High Level Political Forum. This meeting will summarise the conclusions from the two informal consultations and discuss the role of STI for SDGs Roadmaps in the post-COVID 19 recovery context. It will present the achievements of IATT STI for SDGs work stream and, in particular the main findings of the Background paper: Overview of the existing STI roadmapping methodologies, which accompanies the upcoming UN Guidebook on STI for SDGs Roadmaps.

Dates

• Part 1: 22 June 2020 | 9:30 – 12: 30 a.m. EST/ 15.30-18.30 CEST
• Part 2: 30 June 2020 | 9:30 – 12: 30 a.m. EST/15.30-18.30 CEST
• Part 3:  7 July | 08:00 – 09:00 a.m. EST/14.00-15.00 CEST

Structure

A half-day time of each session will be structured into two main parts. The first part will give an overview of the context, state of play and recent developments followed by an interactive, moderated discussion. The second part will focus on specific examples of the discussed issues and aim to learn from the experience gathered so far. It will also be followed by an interactive, moderated discussion – between the panelists and with a wider audience.

Participation

The virtual event will bring together high-level speakers from EU and UN institutions, EU Member States and regions, the UN global pilot programme countries, other international institutions as well as experts and practitioners.

Documents for participants

• Guidebook for the preparation of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) for SDGS roadmaps (draft | PDF file)
• Background Paper (draft | PDF File): Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) for Sustainable Development Goals Roadmaps: Overview of the existing STI for SDGs roadmapping methodologies.

Background

The Addis Ababa Action Agenda^[1] recognises science, technology and innovation as a means to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Starting in November 2018, the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) has been working with UN Inter-agency Task Team on Science, Technology and Innovation for the SDGs to share the EU experience on Smart Specialisation (S3) Strategies as one of the global methodologies for Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Roadmaps for the achievement of SDGs, with a distinctive localised (place-based) approach and widespread application across EU regions. At the same time, there has been a growing interest in adopting S3 as a reference approach to localised innovation-led transformation agendas in a number of countries across the globe, as well as an increasing focus on SDGs as key framework for setting targets and ambitions.

The series of three virtual meetings will contribute to the wider dialogue within the Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM), which creation in 2015 was of historic significance. It will bring together the perspectives and lessons learnt from the worldwide application of EU Smart Specialisation Strategies and from the UN Global Pilot Programme on STI for SDGs Roadmaps. These perspectives will be used to discuss the possible pathways to greener and more sustainable post-pandemic reality and recovery.

In the midst of the current COVID-19 pandemic, it is more urgent than ever to have such multi-stakeholder cooperation to help address the current crisis, mitigate its longer-term impacts, and prepare for future challenges that can threaten progress on the 2030 Agenda. 

More information

• United Nations website: Virtual Expert Group Meeting on STI for SDGs Roadmaps.
• United Nations website. Side event 7 July.