Capacity to link knowledge with action for sustainability

Decision making in support of sustainability is influenced by many factors, but there is no doubt that knowledge is necessary for the effective pursuit of sustainability. Too often, however, that knowledge has been too little, too late, or even worse, not helpful at all. This virtual seminar will explore strategies for building a robust capacity to link knowledge with action that ensures knowledge is both useable and used. The seminar will feature: Connie Nshemereirwe (Director of the Africa Science Leadership Programme) who will address lessons learned as a science policy advisor and educator for bridging across disciplines and cultural boundaries to link knowledge with action; David Cash (former Administrator, US Environmental Protection Agency Region 1 and former Commissioner of Massachusetts Dept. of Environmental Protection) who will reflect on how his government experience has refined his understanding as a sometimes scholar of what it takes to build and maintain the capacity to link knowledge with action;  and Stacy Glass (Co-Founder & Executive Director, ChemFORWARD) who will speak to her experience in building public-private partnerships and accessible platforms to link scientific knowledge with effective action to reduce risks of chemical hazards.  The seminar will be moderated by Alicia Harley (Senior Research Fellow, Sustainability Science Program, Harvard Kennedy School). This seminar is the fifth in a virtual bi-weekly series on Building Capacity for Sustainable Development. The series seeks to integrate insights from scholars and practitioners on how to get things done in tackling the multiple intertwined crises of the Anthropocene: climate change, extinction, war, inequality, and rising authoritarianism. Additional information on the series is available here.

The series is organized by M-RCBG, Sustainability Science Program, Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability, Center for International Development, and the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.