Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN)

Since 2014, leading German knowledge centres and partners from civil society and the private sector have been working together in the Sustainable Development Solutions Network Germany (SDSN Germany) to promote sustainable development in the country and encourage Germany’s commitment to sustainable development in the European Union (EU) and around the world. Anna-Kathrina Hornidge and Gesine Schwan (HUMBOLDT-VIADRINA Governance Platform) are co-chairs of the SDSN Germany Leadership Council. The secretariat is hosted by the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS). SDSN Germany and its members are part of the global SDSN, which was founded in 2012 under the auspices of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to mobilise academic, scientific and technological expertise to foster sustainable development, specifically to achieve the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs) and the Paris Climate Agreement. The members of SDSN Germany serve this mission through their own activities as well as their transdisciplinary cooperation with one another and with the network’s partners. Going beyond traditional settings at the science-policy-interface, SDSN Germany creates new forums for dialogue and cooperation between the political sphere, the academic and scientific community, the private sector and civil society, thus bringing various actors involved in sustainable development together in a constructive spirit. SDSN Germany, its members and its partners are actively involved in the institutional architecture for further developing and implementing Germany’s National Sustainable Development Strategy, thus combining academic and scientific debates with day-to-day governance and implementation. SDSN Germany emphasises in its work the European and international perspective and advocates for thinking together German, European and international processes on sustainable development.