Missions for Sustainability – International conference on 5th and 6th May 2022 - Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development

A profound change towards sustainability is needed worldwide in order to overcome global challenges such as the climate crisis. With the innovative concept of mission-oriented research, science is breaking new ground, together with a wide range of different actors. But what are the challenges and limitations of this new type of collaborative research? How can the approach be further developed in a promising way? This question will be addressed at the international conference "Missions for Sustainability: New approaches for science and society". The virtual conference will be held on 5th and 6th May 2022 by the Leibniz Research Network "Knowledge for Sustainable Development".

In order to cope with pressing global sustainability challenges such as the climate crisis systemic innovations are needed urgently. The mission-oriented research and innovation approach promises to address this need: It strives to direct a broad portfolio of inter- and transdisciplinary scientific activities towards achieving bold and inspirational societal goals within a specific time- and resource frame.

Nevertheless, the design and implementation of mission-oriented research and innovation also raises new questions e. g. in terms of governance and responsibility, normativity and social learning, as well as trade-offs and the navigation of complexity. How should the approach evolve as it becomes adopted across a widening range of sustainability challenges and policy fields?

Banner of the conference with title and date

This question will be the focus of the two-day international conference “Missions for Sustainability: New approaches for science and society” on 5th and 6th May. It will bring together diverse actors from science, policy, business and civil society to critically discuss opportunities as well as challenges and limitations of mission-oriented research and innovation. In various virtual sessions and workshops, participants can exchange ideas on the topics of sustainability, trade-offs, freedom of science, governance, social learning or complexity. Keynotes and panel discussions with renowned experts will be streamed online for the participants.

Keynote speeches will be given by Prof. Dr. Lea Fünfschilling, Centre for Innovation Research (CIRCLE) at Lund University, Sweden, and Dr. Philippe Larrue, Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI) at Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Participation in the conference is free of charge.

More information and registration

Contact for questions about the conference
Alina Kaltenberg, IOER, e-mail: A.Kaltenberg@ioer.de

About the Leibniz Research Network “Knowledge for Sustainable Development”
Five institutions of the Leibniz Association have joined forces to form the "Knowledge for Sustainable Development" network, thus pooling their expertise to give sustainability science more influence and effectiveness. The network partners include: ARL - Academy for Spatial Development in the Leibniz Association, Hanover; Leibniz Institute for History and Culture of Eastern Europe (GWZO), Leipzig; Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development (IOER), Dresden; Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Müncheberg (Mark); Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research GmbH (ZMT), Bremen.
More information on the network

Contact to the network
Prof. Dr. Rainer Danielzyk, ARL (co-speaker), e-mail: Danielzykioer@arl-net.de
Prof. Dr. Marc Wolfram, IOER (co-speaker), e-mail: M.Wolframioer@ioer.de

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