On 17-18 October 2018 SDSN Australia, New Zealand & Pacific and Future Earth Australia (FEA) hosted a symposium for early career researchers and practitioners looking at how research can help address interactions between the Sustainable Development Goals.
One of the most innovative and far-reaching aspects of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework is that it recognises the interlinkages between and within the goals, and the need for them to be addressed as an indivisible and integrated whole. Given the complexity of interactions between the goals, and the siloed ways in which many actions are taken, this is also one of the hardest aspects of the SDGs for policy and decision makers to implement.
Research is stepping up to the challenge of helping these stakeholders address the SDGs in an integrated way. Building on insights and approaches from areas such as policy coherence, systems analysis and modelling, and nexus approaches, it is developing new knowledge, approaches and tools relevant to the SDGs.
Early career researchers and practitioners are often at the cutting edge of this innovative work. This symposium aimed to help these ECRs advance their research, their careers, and the area of SDG integration more generally by:
Dr Tahl Kestin, Network Manager, SDSN Australia, NZ & Pacific tahl.kestin@monash.edu
Dr Tayanah O’Donnell, Director, Future Earth Australia tayanah.odonnell@science.org.au