The sustainability science approach in sub‑Saharan Africa: key lessons from five case studies

Abstract

In 2015, the United Nations adopted 17 sustainable development objectives (SDGs) with goals to be reached by 2030. However, as amply reported in the scientific and development literature, none of the goals are on track to be achieved globally. This is particularly true for sub-Saharan Africa. Under a complex socio-environmental context, it is argued that major transformations and new approaches demand a stronger science–policy–society interface. Given the dynamic, multi- and interdisciplinary nature of the research for and on SDGs, there is a broad consensus that sustainability science is one of the instrumental approaches to their implementation. Based on sociological grounds, and in a framework of innovation systems and knowledge production, this paper aims to analyze the main challenges of five sub-Saharan African countries regarding innovation and knowledge production within the sustainability science approach. Based on primary data arising from field interviews and focus groups, and combined with desk research and bibliometric studies, the paper presents differences and commonalities among the country studies. These are used toward the definition of a set of five principles to guide the uptake of the sustainable science approach in the subregion in the discussion section: fostering intra-regional cooperation; multi- and interdisciplinary research; involving other stakeholders and knowledge systems; reinforcing the science–policy interface; and the evaluation data and methods.