Foundation calls for collaboration to meet global goals

SFI leader urges joint initiatives between research, industry and NGOs at Seattle meeting

Meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 will require innovative partnerships between government, academia, non-profit organisations and industry, according to Mark Ferguson, head of the Science Foundation Ireland.

Ferguson made his points at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, held on 15 February in Seattle, United States. Decarbonisation of the atmosphere, solving hunger and ending conflict will demand huge social adjustments; and achieving science-related solutions to these and other problems will have to come from innovative collaborations, he said.