Leibniz Research Network "Knowledge for Sustainable Development"
Background
Today, sustainability is firmly anchored as an overarching societal objective at all levels. Sustainability strives for the best possible quality of life (Dasein) for all, while ensuring that this can be realised in the long term. Against this backdrop, in 2015 the global community agreed on the UN Sustainable Development Goals as an agenda for tackling the most urgent challenges facing humanity. The German government is pursuing a corresponding sustainability strategy, and such strategies are also in place almost everywhere in the federal states and local authorities.
However, the sciences play a key role in practical implementation: They provide a wide range of insights for understanding complex systems (e.g. energy, mobility, food, housing, health) and, in particular, the requirements for processes to change them. Together with stakeholders from policy, business and civil society, scientists develop new knowledge and solutions for social, ecological and technological transformations.
In order to fulfil this role effectively, the framework conditions and institutions of science as well as its theories and methods must therefore be reflected upon and developed further in a targeted manner. The Leibniz Research Network ‘Knowledge for Sustainable Development’ supports this process and organises summer schools, synthesis workshops, future dialogues and international conferences for this purpose.
Steering group
Five Leibniz Association institutions joined forces for the first time in 2020 to form the ‘Knowledge for Sustainable Development’ network in order to promote the reflexive sustainability science. Following successive expansions, the network's activities are now conceptualised, organised and implemented by nine members in a steering group:
- Marc Wolfram, Prof. Dr. (Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development - IOER), co-speaker of the network
- Antje Bruns, Prof. Dr. (ARL – Academy for Territorial Development in the Leibniz Association), co-speaker of the network
- Matthias Hardt, Prof. Dr. (Leibniz Institute for History and Culture of Eastern Europe - GWZO)
- Wolfgang Schulz, Prof. Dr. (Leibniz-Institut für Medienforschung │ Hans-Bredow-Institut - HBI)
- Miriam Brandt, Dr. (Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research - IZW)
- Christoph M. Schmidt, Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. (RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research)
- Michelle Chevelev-Bonatti, Assoc. Prof. Dr. (Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research - ZALF)
- Achim Schlüter, Prof. Dr. (Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research GmbH - ZMT)
- Sibylle Schroer, Dr. (Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries - IGB)
Other network partners
In addition to the members, other cooperation partners are also involved in the network's activities on a selective and topic-dependent basis. These include a wide range of organisations from science, policy and practice as well as other Leibniz institutions.