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Global experts come together to map how science can strengthen the sustainable development agenda beyond 2030
As governments and policy-makers prepare to consider what the global sustainable development agenda will look like after the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) reach their target year of 2030, the joint MSDI and Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) project, “Thought leadership for a post-2030 sustainable development agenda,” is working to mobilise scientific support to strengthen this important process.
Following a successful first workshop in Indonesia in 2024, some 30 of the world’s top academic and policy experts on governance for the SDGs came together in Stockholm on 10-11 December 2025 for the second workshop, “Pathways to Impact”, to deepen understanding of the needs of policy makers, explore how science can support the post-2030 process, and identify opportunities for collaboration.
The workshop started with an open Science-Policy Dialogue, featuring senior academics, policymakers, and UN officials, on the knowledge demand and needs for the upcoming post-2030 process, and how science can support this process.
The Dialogue included a keynote presentation by Csaba Kőrösi, 77th President of the UN General Assembly and the co-convenor of the UN Open Working Group that designed the SDGs, who shared reflections and recommendations on how to bring science into the UN processes from his extensive experience.
Dr Cameron Allen, Senior Research Fellow at MSDI and co-lead of the project, also gave a presentation on what science knows about the successes and shortfalls of 2030 Agenda implementation. This work built on the outcomes of the first workshop and will soon be released in the prestigious journal Science.
The workshop continued with a mix of thematic working group sessions and plenary discussions to connect insights across different areas of expertise, facilitated by Cameron, Associate Professor Shirin Malekpour and their project lead colleagues at SEI, Nina Weitz and Therese Bennich.
Throughout the two days, participants worked together to identify opportunities for scientific research to strengthen the post-2030 negotiations process, develop ideas for research projects and activities, map opportunities for collaboration, and outline potential joint outputs and next steps for the thought leadership process.
The main topics considered included revisions or additions to the Sustainable Development Goals, improving accountability and reporting, finance for sustainable development, and strengthening the involvement of civil society and other actors in the post-2030 process.
The program also provided space for informal exchange and networking to strengthen relationships that can support future work.
An outcome report from the workshop is expected to be published in 2026. In addition, the work will be complemented by a new ARC Discovery project led by Shirin, on driving effective goal-based governance for the SDGs.
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