What Works: Bridging research and policy on sustainable development
Welcome to the annual Oslo SDG conference!
Four years have elapsed since the introduction of the 2030 Agenda and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on the world stage. In July 2019, several thousand delegates – government officials, civil society organizations and academics – attended the 2019 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) at UN headquarters in New York with the overall aim of discussing “Empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality”. An overall conclusion at the 2019 HLPF, as in previous years, was that the pace of action on achieving the SDGs is slow and that a sense of urgency was needed if the SDGs were to be achieved by the 2030 deadline. Accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda is also at the core of the SDG summit organized at UN Headquarters in September 2019. But not all is doom and gloom. At this conference, we wish to bridge the gap between research and policy and better understand what is working, where, how and why.
Our aim is to go beyond the usual rhetoric and engage with political and business leaders as well as academics and activists in an effort to nuance the discourse on political commitment, financing and implementation of the SDGs. What is the state of policymaking on the SDGs, and how best can we achieve policy coherence across sectors? While businesses in many countries appear to have embraced specific SDGs, there are growing concerns that integrating development and environmental goals may not be as mutually supportive in practice as is often claimed. The sessions on day 1 will highlight the role of governance (SDG 16) for greater integration between the 17 goals as well as three thematic sessions – on energy, food and health – aimed at disseminating recent and cutting edge research findings on specific SDGs to a wider audience and engaging in a discussion on how best to achieve policy coherence. Each of these thematic sessions will begin with a brief introductory overview of the issues before the moderator engages in a discussion with a panel of experts and stakeholders.
On day 2, we will focus on the role and impact of research on policy formulation and implementation. How can research findings be made more attractive for the attention of policymakers? And how, and to what extent, does scientific evidence shape and influence political decision-making on climate and development policy, which in turn changes social behaviour and attitudes? Are there good and illustrative examples of how research is shaping policymaking on sustainable development in Norway and abroad? The final session of the conference will highlight the challenges and opportunities for improved research communication on sustainable development.
Programme
Monday, 14 October
Session 1: Achieving the SDGs: The Role of Politics and Finance
09:00-09:15: Welcome
Prof. Åse Gornitzka, Vice-Rector, University of Oslo
09:15-10:15: Political commitment for the SDGs
Opening remarks by Ola Elvestuen, Minister of Climate and Environment, Norway and President of the fifth United Nations Environment Assembly
Camilla Brückner, Director, UNDP Nordic Office
Malcolm Langford, Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Oslo
Kathrine Sund-Henriksen, Director, The Norwegian Forum for Development and Environment
Moderator: Dan Banik, Professor and Director of the Oslo SDG Initiative, University of Oslo
10.15 - 10.20: Break
10:20-11:15: Financing the SDGs
Johan Andresen, Owner and Chairman of Ferd and Chair of the Council of Ethics for the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global
Linda Haltbrekken, Director of Corporate Partnerships, Plan Norge
Bjørn K. Haugland, CEO, Skift
Jon Lomøy, Director General, Norad
Mari Sundli Tveit, Policy Director, Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise
Moderator: Dan Banik, Professor and Director of the Oslo SDG Initiative, University of Oslo
11:15-11:30: Break
11:30-12:20: Governance for SDG integration: SDG 16 as an enabler
Julia Kercher, Senior Expert, UNDP Oslo Governance Centre
Ingrid Rostad, Adviser, Norwegian Forum for Development and Environment
Guro Slettemark, Secretary General, Transparency International Norway
Moderator: Inge Herman Rydland, Special Envoy for the 2030 Agenda, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
12:20-13:00: Lunch
Session 2: Thematic Panels
13:00-14:00: The role of energy and infrastructure in reaching social, environmental and economic development
Opening remarks by Gavin Bridge, Professor, Department of Geography, Durham University
Arve Hansen, Post-doctoral Fellow, Centre for Development and the Environment, University of Oslo
Hanna Havnevik, Professor, Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages, University of Oslo
Karina Standal, Senior Researcher, CICERO
Kacper Szulecki, Researcher, Department of Political Science, University of Oslo
Moderator: Tanja Winther, Professor, Centre for Development and the Environment, University of Oslo
14:00-14:10: Break
14:10-15:10: Agriculture, food security and SDG 2
Michael Chasukwa, Head of Department, Department of Political and Administrative Studies, University of Malawi
Per Fredrik I. Pharo, Editor and Lead Author, Food and Land Use Coalition Global Consultation Report
Astrid Tveterås, Senior Adviser, Section for Environment and Food Security, Norad
Jan Thomas Ødegård, Director, The Development Fund
Moderator: Ruth Haug, Professor, Noragric, Norwegian University of Life Sciences
15:10-15:20: Break
15:20-16:20: What works in global health?
Opening remarks by Katerini Storeng, Associate Professor, Centre for Development and the Environment, University of Oslo
Kjersti Koffeld, Senior Advocacy Advisor, Save the Children Norway
Hassan Njie, PhD candidate, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo
Ingvar Olsen, Policy Director, Global Health Section, Norad
Moderator: Antoine de Bengy Puyvallée, PhD candidate, Centre for Development and the Environment, University of Oslo
16:20-16:30: Closing remarks
16:30: Refreshments
Tuesday, 15 October
Session 3: Knowledge for Sustainable Development
09:00-09:15: Welcome
Tale Kvalvaag, Director, the Knowledge Bank, Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD)
09:15-10:00: The role and impact of research on policy
Short presentations followed by a discussion
- Tax for Development
- Odd-Helge Fjeldstad, Research Professor, Chr. Michelsen Institute
- Capacity building in law faculties in Kenya, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe (NORHED)
- Anne Hellum, Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Oslo
- Bioenergy in Ethiopia (EnPe)
- Trine Hvoslef-Eide, Professor, Faculty of Biosciences, Norwegian University of Life Sciences
Panel discussion
10:00-10:55: Ensuring the uptake of research findings in policy formulation and praxis
Svein Bæra, Policy Director, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Kristin Danielsen, Executive Director, Research Council of Norway
Happy Kayuni, Professor, Department of Political and Administrative Studies, University of Malawi
Charlotte Nakakaawa Jjunju, Senior Adviser, EnPe Secretariate, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Toril-Iren Pedersen, Senior Adviser, Tax for Development, Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD)
Moderator: Nikolai Hegertun, PhD candidate, Centre for Development and the Environment, University of Oslo
10:55-11:05: Break
11:05-12:00: Producing research or posturing researchers? Challenges with research communication on sustainable development
Svein Bæra, Policy Director, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Dag Olav Hessen, Professor, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
Thina Saltvedt, Senior Advisor, Group Sustainable Finance, Nordea
Moderator: Benedicte Bull, Professor, Centre for Development and the Environment, University of Oslo
12:00: End of conference followed by lunch