Post by James Paskins

I have just written a short blog piece covering the UCL Grand Challenges international conference: Tackling Grand Challenges–What Works, What’s Missing, and What’s Next. https://lnkd.in/egWrT5QS There is a recognition (reinforced by some excellent talks, panels and workshops) that global problems are complex and interwoven. Addressing challenges like climate change and global inequality will require different academic disciplines, different sectors and different countries to work together. Hence, there is a need for challenge-led interdisciplinary and cross-sector approaches and we had a fantastic group to explore this over the course of two days. Below are some of the insights from our mix of researchers, policymakers, practitioners and innovators: ✅ What works? Universities can act as trusted convenors, bringing together diverse partners Progress depends on coalitions that cut across disciplines, sectors and geographies ❎ What’s missing? The evidence is there, the implementation is often lacking It's not just research and teaching, universities have some big levers to pull (from partnerships to procurement) Inclusion matters ❓What’s next? Strengthen networks for challenge-led work Looking beyond the end of the current UN SDGs in 2030 Capturing what we are learning by running schemes like UCL Grand Challenges Read the full blog here: Tackling Grand Challenges–what works, what’s missing, and what’s next