UN Call for Inputs to the IATT Report for the STI Forum 2022
Deadline: extended to 31 March 2022 [PDF version of this call]
The UN Interagency Task Team on Science, Technology and Innovation for the SDGs (IATT) is calling upon scientists, engineers, economists, policy analysts, and UN staff experts to contribute to the annual background report on “Emerging science, frontier technologies, and the SDGs – Perspectives from UN system and science and technology communities” in support of the Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the SDGs (STI Forum), to be held at UN Headquarters in New York from 5 to 6 May 2022.
Themes: We are looking for substantive contributions in either one of the following areas on issues that you would like to bring to the attention of policy makers:
Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic for the science-policy-society interface.
Rapidly emerging frontier technologies and emerging science issues (for the Sustainable Development Goals).
Theme (a) looks for assessments of what has worked and what hasn’t in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, for innovative policy and institutional suggestions on how to improve the science-policy-interface, and for broader perspectives on frontier technology solutions. Contributions can also focus on important related issues, such as science diplomacy, public trust in science, R&D support, promising technology solutions, and changing innovation systems.
Theme (b) focuses on rapidly emerging science and technologies that progress so fast and have such broad-ranging socio-economic and environmental impacts that they pose serious challenges for societies and institutions to adapt. Examples include - but are not necessarily limited to - highly interdependent, emerging technology clusters in the areas of automation, robotics, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, nanomaterials, and various digital technologies.
Format: We are looking for concise contributions of around 1,600 words (excluding references and Annexes) in the form of science-policy briefs, comprising abstract, outline of empirical facts and issues, and policy recommendations. Prospective and scenario-based work is equally encouraged. Authorship will be fully acknowledged. The contributions would ideally be grounded in peer-reviewed literature. They would be quantitative comprising tables, figures or infographics, as appropriate. Samples of the science-policy briefs from 2021 are available here.
Submissions will be peer-reviewed. Upon review and acceptance, individual contributions will be included in the IATT report and/or posted on the UN Website as standalone briefs. With your submission, you also permit us to use and consider them for other UN system reports and presentations.
Timeline: We are looking forward to your submissions to roehrl@un.org and freire@un.org as soon as possible and hopefully no later than 31 March 2022. For planning purposes, we also encourage you to inform us as soon as possible about the topic of any contributions that you plan to submit.
Note: Late submissions are welcome in support of our ongoing work, as are longer empirical research papers (maximum of 16,000 words). If interested, please contact us for further information.