{"id":8119,"date":"2020-01-20T09:10:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-20T08:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.gstic.org\/?p=8119"},"modified":"2022-03-18T16:00:38","modified_gmt":"2022-03-18T15:00:38","slug":"spearheading-technological-innovation-for-the-sdgs","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.gstic.org\/expert-story\/spearheading-technological-innovation-for-the-sdgs\/","title":{"rendered":"Spearheading technological innovation for the SDGs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Against a backdrop of growing urgency, the G-STIC 2019 conference kick-started the development of a living library of integrated technological solutions that can help us achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and climate goals. The conference sessions on climate, education, energy, health, oceans, and water dived into concrete examples of market-ready solutions. In addition, participants discussed the levers of change needed to market them at scale under different socio-economic and geopolitical conditions. In doing so, G-STIC helped pave the way for building a tool that sensitises policymakers at all levels and assists them in evaluating the transformative potential of technological innovations for the SDGs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-vimeo wp-block-embed-vimeo wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"wpbf-responsive-embed\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"G-STIC: aftermovie\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/378820428?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Achieving the SDGs with business-as-usual is not possible<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Four years\nafter the United Nations launched the Agenda 2030 and its associated SDGs,\nprogress is lacking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The figures reported by various specialised UN agencies are quite alarming. <a href=\"https:\/\/news.un.org\/en\/story\/2019\/09\/1046772\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">Essential health services are out of reach<\/a> for at least 50% of the world\u2019s population. 2.0 billion people still do not have <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/news-room\/fact-sheets\/detail\/sanitation\" target=\"_blank\">access to basic sanitation facilities<\/a>. Some 840 million people remain <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.worldbank.org\/en\/news\/press-release\/2019\/05\/22\/tracking-sdg7-the-energy-progress-report-2019\" target=\"_blank\">without access to electricity<\/a>. Moreover, droughts, floods, heatwaves, extreme weather conditions and sea-level rise are felt harder and sooner than expected.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These are\nclear signs that achieving the SDGs with business-as-usual is just not possible,\nand that breakthrough technological innovations for the SDGs are of vital\nimportance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Building a living library of technological innovations for the SDGs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This library will provide an overview of transformative solutions underpinned by practical assessment criteria embedded in science and best practices. This library is indispensable for policymakers developing&nbsp;Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) roadmaps&nbsp;for the SDGs. At the same time, captains of industry can use this library for&nbsp;exploring new business opportunities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whereas previous editions of the G-STIC conference helped put technological innovations for the SDGs on the international policy agenda, the 2019 edition took the next big step. It kick-started the development of a living library of market-ready technological innovations that can help us achieve the SDGs and climate goals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Deploying technological innovations for the SDGs on a large enough scale<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The deep-dive sessions on climate, education, energy, health, oceans and water during the 2019 conference edition, therefore, gave centre stage to real-life examples of technological innovations for the SDGs that can already be applied today, and that are economically feasible. Just to name a few, these include <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>desalination installations to counterbalance droughts and freshwater shortage, <\/li><li>modelling and decision support tools for smart district energy planning, <\/li><li>smart glasses to make high-quality healthcare accessible and affordable for patients at remote locations, .<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Deep-dive sessions also looked into the infrastructure,\nfinancial incentives, regulations and legislation that are needed to deploy\nthese technological innovations on a large enough scale to bring about real\nchange.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"673\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gstic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/G-STIC-2019-smart-glasses.jpg\" alt=\"An example of technological innovation for the SDGs: smart glasses\" class=\"wp-image-8567\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.gstic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/G-STIC-2019-smart-glasses.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.gstic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/G-STIC-2019-smart-glasses-480x269.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.gstic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/G-STIC-2019-smart-glasses-768x431.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Forwarding actions and programmes in support of the SDGs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The G-STIC 2019 conference also proved to be an action forum with a series of deal-making and business development events to forward the implementation of market-ready technological innovations for the SDGs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The G-STIC Industry Night shed light on how to turn sustainable development challenges into exciting business opportunities and offered plenty of networking opportunities with influential policymakers, investors, and captains of industry. Keynote speakers highlighted emerging and rising trends in the industry and testified how businesses can drive growth and productivity while contributing to achieving the SDGs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-vimeo wp-block-embed-vimeo wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"wpbf-responsive-embed\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"G-STIC: Industry Night\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/378815561?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Young people could showcase smart, original and innovative solutions and business concepts during the G-STIC Youth Challenge, a competition organised by <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/entrepreneurship.ieee.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">IEEE Entrepreneurship<\/a> in coordination with the UN Major Group for Children and Youth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Copernicus Hackathon allowed small teams of people with different backgrounds and expertise to collaborate on the development of software prototypes based on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.copernicus.eu\/en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">Copernicus<\/a> Earth Observation Data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Matchmaking and pitching events provided companies and\nresearch organisations looking for investors or research cooperation with an\nexcellent opportunity to showcase their market-ready technologies in front of\nan international expert audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gstic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/gstic-blog-matchmaking-2019-conference.jpg\" alt=\"Forwarding actions and programmes in support of the SDGs\" class=\"wp-image-13114\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.gstic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/gstic-blog-matchmaking-2019-conference.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.gstic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/gstic-blog-matchmaking-2019-conference-480x270.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.gstic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/gstic-blog-matchmaking-2019-conference-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.gstic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/gstic-blog-matchmaking-2019-conference-500x281.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Evaluating the transformative potential of technological innovations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>All G-STIC 2019 conference sessions and events shared a razor-sharp focus on market-ready technological innovations for the SDGs. The living library will share this focus and provide an overview of transformative solutions underpinned by practical assessment criteria embedded in science and best practices. This approach will make it into a tool to spearhead technological innovation for the SDGs, change markets at scale and inspire societies to move towards more sustainable development patterns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the next phase, we plan to further develop scientifically underpinned assessment criteria into a framework that assists governments and corporations in evaluating the transformative potential of technological innovations for the SDGs. Ultimately, this framework will make it possible and practical to quantify how technological innovations can contribute substantively to the implementation of one or more specific SDG targets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":8538,"template":"","sector":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.9 (Yoast SEO v22.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Spearheading technological innovation for the SDGs &#8226; G-STIC<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Spearheading technological innovation for the SDGs against a backdrop of growing urgency, G-STIC inspires a move towards sustainable development patterns.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gstic.org\/expert-story\/spearheading-technological-innovation-for-the-sdgs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Spearheading technological innovation for the SDGs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Spearheading technological innovation for the SDGs against a backdrop of growing urgency, G-STIC inspires a move towards sustainable development patterns.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gstic.org\/expert-story\/spearheading-technological-innovation-for-the-sdgs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"G-STIC\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-03-18T15:00:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.gstic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/G-STIC-2019-Industry-Night-presentation-by-Chad-Frischmann.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@GSTICseries\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.gstic.org\/expert-story\/spearheading-technological-innovation-for-the-sdgs\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.gstic.org\/expert-story\/spearheading-technological-innovation-for-the-sdgs\/\",\"name\":\"Spearheading technological innovation for the SDGs &#8226; 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