SCIENCE FOR SUSTAINABILITY: BRIDGING RESEARCH AND INNOVATION TO ACHIEVE THE SDGS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47701/qqq1rq81Keywords:
Sustainability Science, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Nilsson Interaction Scale, San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), Triple Bottom Line (TBL), Interdisciplinary Research, Innovation Valley of DeathAbstract
Bridging the gap between research and innovation is essential to achieving
the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
This study evaluated how sustainability science serves as a structural
framework for closing two major systemic barriers: the Research
Implementation Gap and the Innovation Valley of Death. A retrospective
review was conducted of two previous health events. Interventions were
evaluated against the SDGs using Nilsson’s 7-Point SDG Interaction Scale.
Both previous health events demonstrated that human survival depends on
interdisciplinary data sharing, multi-agency enforcement, adaptive
governance, and direct community engagement. These elements align with
core principles of sustainability science. The responses revealed positive
SDG interactions—such as scientific data-to-policy pipelines reinforcing
public health risk reduction (+2)—alongside negative trade-offs, in which
strict containment blockades directly undermined local livelihoods (-2). To
institutionalize these, the research sector must adopt the San Francisco
Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) to assess research beyond
journal factors and citations. Innovation leaders must integrate the Triple
Bottom Line (TBL) framework (People, Planet, Profit). Together, DORA
and TBL provide the operational foundation for sustainability science,
accelerating the development of resilient policies and supporting long-term
human survival
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