Why Climate Research Fails to Change Policy: Three Roadblocks Exposed
A study of ten major sustainability projects reveals why groundbreaking climate research rarely translates into real-world action: knowledge gets lost between research teams and decision-makers, impacts take decades while funding lasts months, and solutions don't scale from local sites to regions. Funders and agencies must rethink how they support research—or watch billions in climate research go to waste.
Originaltitel: Pathways from research to sustainable development: Insights from ten research projects in sustainability and resilience
<p>Drawing on collective experience from ten collaborative research projects focused on the Global South, we identify three major challenges that impede the translation of research on sustainability and resilience into better-informed choices by individuals and policy-makers that in turn can support transformation to a sustainable future. The three challenges comprise: (i) converting knowledge produced during research projects into successful knowledge application; (ii) scaling up knowledge in time when research projects are short-term and potential impacts are long-term; and (iii) scaling up knowledge across space, from local research sites to larger-scale or even global impact. Some potential pathways for funding agencies to overcome these challenges include providing targeted prolonged funding for dissemination and outreach, and facilitating collaboration and coordination across different sites, research teams, and partner organizations. By systematically documenting these challenges, we hope to pave the way for further innovations in the research cycle.</p>