Science, Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Development

A/RES/80/147View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A document of the General Assembly, under agenda item 20aScience, technology and innovation for sustainable development, published in 2025.

What other versions does this mandate have?

4 versions · 2020–2025

2025A/RES/80/147Science, technology and innovation for sustainable developmentLatestCompare with previous version
2023A/RES/78/160Science, technology and innovation for sustainable developmentCompare with previous version
2022A/RES/76/213Science, technology and innovation for sustainable developmentCompare with previous version
2020A/RES/74/229Science, technology and innovation for sustainable development

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Who cites this mandate in the budget?

10 entities

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What subjects does this mandate have?

6 topics

Developing Countries Science and Technology Science and Technology Policy Sustainable Development Technological Innovations Technology Transfer

What does this mandate say?

55 operative paragraphs

Welcomes the outcome document of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, the Sevilla Commitment, and calls for its timely and effective implementation with regard to, inter alia, science, technology and innovation, as an important action area for sustainable development;

Reaffirms its commitment to continue promoting the use of science, technology and innovation, including through evidence-based policymaking and programming, in facilitating efforts to address global challenges, and to accelerate progress on the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, such as efforts to eradicate poverty, including extreme poverty; achieve food security and nutrition; increase agricultural productivity; enhance access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all; fight diseases; improve education; protect the environment and address climate change; and foster disaster preparedness and strengthen the effectiveness and efficiency of disaster resilience-building;

Emphasizes that applying science to solve complex global challenges calls for cross- and trans-disciplinary collaboration and a strong science-policy-society interface in order to build trust in science and evidence;

Reaffirms its commitment to the actions agreed upon by the least developed countries and development partners on science, technology and innovation, as outlined in the Doha Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries, and takes note of the Doha Political Declaration, adopted during the second part of the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, held in Doha from 5 to 9 March 2023, as well as the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for Small Island Developing States: A Renewed Declaration for Resilient Prosperity and the Awaza Programme of Action for Landlocked Developing Countries for the Decade 2024–2034;

Notes the central role of Governments, with active contribution from stakeholders from the private sector, civil society, academia and research institutions, appropriate United Nations entities and relevant international entities and forums, in creating and supporting an enabling environment at all levels, including enabling regulatory and governance frameworks, in accordance with national priorities, to nurture science, innovation, entrepreneurship and the dissemination of knowledge and technologies that is on mutually agreed terms, particularly to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as industrial diversification and value added to commodities;

Underscores the need to recognize science, technology and innovation strategies as a main driver of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals and of national sustainable development plans and strategies, and encourages clear, specific and measurable goals, based on an assessment of national priorities and the international science, technology and innovation agenda, that help to strengthen knowledge-sharing on mutually agreed terms and collaboration and scale up investment in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education, and enhance technical, vocational and tertiary education and training;

Acknowledges the contribution of science, technology and innovation to industrial development in developing countries and as a critical source of economic growth, economic diversification and value addition, and therefore calls for policy and institutional frameworks that foster collaboration and integration between research and academic institutes and industrial sectors;

Recognizes the importance of addressing the gap in capabilities across and between countries, sectors and segments of society so that all parts of society, especially those in vulnerable situations and the poor, can adapt and benefit from technological changes;

Calls for enhanced partnerships to ensure the provision of means of implementation to developing countries, including through facilitating access to science, technology and innovation funds, capacity-building and knowledge-sharing, ensuring that resources are directed to countries and regions with high needs and impacts;

Further calls to support countries to develop and implement mission-oriented, country-led national innovation strategies, including Science, Technology and Innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals Road Maps road maps and national road maps for digitalization involving relevant stakeholders to incentivize productivity, decent job creation at scale and innovation aligned with development priorities and human rights, and for the provision of support and training and share best practices on strategic science, technology and innovation governance, regulation and institutions for science, technology and innovation policy to enhance policy coherence, and the effective use of data as a product and enabler of science, technology and innovation, in developing countries, especially countries in special situations;

Recognizes the importance of the creation of a conducive environment that attracts and supports private investment, entrepreneurship and corporate social responsibility, including an efficient, adequate, balanced and effective intellectual property framework, while encouraging access to science, technology and innovation by developing countries;

Also recognizes that coordinated national and international efforts are needed to leverage scientific and technological advances for sustainable development, close digital divides and realize the full potential of digital technology and the use of data in achieving financial inclusion and financial health;

Encourages Member States to strengthen and foster investment in research and development for environmentally sound technologies and to promote the involvement of the business and financial sectors in the development of those technologies, and invites the international community to support those efforts;

Encourages all stakeholders, in an effort to prepare for existing and future opportunities and challenges presented by technological change, including the fourth industrial revolution, among others, to explore ways and means of conducting inclusive national, regional and international technology assessment and foresight exercises on existing, new and emerging technologies as a process to encourage structured debate among all stakeholders to help to evaluate their development potential and mitigate possible negative effects and risks;

Encourages Member States to strengthen science, technology and innovation for public health, including by promoting diversified, sustainable, strengthened local and regional innovation and production capacities of vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics and other health products for greater sustainability of supply chains, equitable and timely access to and distribution of health technologies, and to support developing countries in building expertise in developing local, national and regional research, innovation, manufacturing, production and regulatory capacities, while further enabling the increased use of data and health technologies to digitally transform health systems;

Recognizes the need for all countries, in particular for developing countries, to build scientific and clinical medical research capacity, including through partnerships with other countries, international organizations and other relevant entities;

Welcomes the establishment, within the United Nations, of the multidisciplinary Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence and of the Global Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence Governance, in accordance with resolution 79/325, in which their terms of reference and modalities were set out, and looks forward to progress towards the fulfilment of their mandates;

Requests the Technology Facilitation Mechanism and the Commission on Science and Technology for Development, through the Economic and Social Council, to continue to consider, in a coordinated manner within their respective mandates and existing resources, the impact of rapid technological changes and frontier technologies on the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and targets, and to align this endeavour with the follow-up cycle of the high-level political forum on sustainable development in order to support the efforts of all countries towards the attainment of the Goals, including through forging partnerships with other relevant stakeholders, organizations, initiatives and forums, such as the Partnership in Action on STI for SDGs Road Maps, initiated by the United Nations inter-agency task team on science, technology and innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals, and the dissemination of advances and best practices to facilitate cooperation towards this end;

Welcomes the support by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the Secretariat and the Economic Commission for Africa for the establishment of the Coalition on Science, Technology and Innovation for Africa’s Development during the eighth multi-stakeholder forum on science, technology and innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals to create pathways for African countries to develop, deploy and expand their use of science, technology and innovation in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals;

Encourages Member States, individually and collectively, to support policies that increase financial inclusion, including through promoting access to affordable and inclusive digital financial services and initiatives to reduce inequalities for people and businesses, especially micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises in urban and especially in rural areas, by building digital trust, expanding access to finance and trade opportunities and enhancing training through the use of innovative tools, including mobile banking, payment platforms and digitalized payments;

Also encourages Member States to promote local innovation capabilities for inclusive and sustainable economic development by bringing together local scientific, vocational and engineering knowledge, mobilizing resources from multiple channels, improving information and communications technology, supporting infrastructure development and incentivizing technology and knowledge collaboration among universities, research institutes and the private and public sectors to strengthen the innovation ecosystem and support the transition from basic to applied research;

Further encourages Member States to promote digital inclusion and literacy and to consider incorporating digital competencies into the education system, with a special focus on encouraging girls and enhancing digital skills and competences development, including through investment in digital qualification, specialization in digital technologies, digital infrastructure, public policies and institutional development and multi-stakeholder and international collaboration;

Underlines that addressing persistent barriers to equal access for women and girls to science, technology and innovation, and their meaningful participation in learning, as well as workforce opportunities for women, requires a systematic, comprehensive, integrated, sustainable, multidisciplinary and multisectoral approach, in this regard urges Member States to mainstream a gender perspective in legislation, policies and programmes, encourages decision makers to create supportive workplace and educational settings, and also encourages efforts to promote, mentor, attract and retain women and girls in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education and research and to support women in leveraging science and technology for entrepreneurship and economic empowerment in the changing world of work;

Emphasizes the importance of the participation of women and girls in science, technology and innovation, reiterates the commitment to support efforts to provide opportunities for quality and inclusive science, technology, engineering and mathematics education and research, and further encourages the United Nations development system to support efforts to reduce gender disparity in these areas, with the cooperation of Member States and international collaborative research organizations;

Also emphasizes that efforts to close all digital divides and ensure that no one is left behind in the digital transformation and digital economy should be expanded and grounded in digital inclusion, and encourages all relevant stakeholders to promote equal, equitable and affordable access to digital skills and online services, including through digital public goods and digital government;

Notes the importance of facilitating access to and sharing accessible and assistive technologies, through the transfer of technology on mutually agreed terms and other actions, to advance disability-inclusive development, ensure accessibility for persons with disabilities and promote their empowerment;

Also notes the critical role of science, technology and innovation and medical cooperation in accelerating the recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID‑19) pandemic;

Recognizes the important role of intellectual property regimes, such as the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), and the importance of intellectual property rights, in contributing to progress on science, technology and innovation and the achievement of sustainable development, and will protect and enforce intellectual property rights in a way that contributes to the promotion of technological innovation and to the transfer and dissemination of technology, to the mutual advantage of producers and users of technological knowledge and in a manner conducive to social and economic welfare, and to a balance of rights and obligations, and will support least developed countries and developing countries in using technologies, including through, inter alia, licensing, capacity-building, relationship facilitation, incentives or conditions linked to research and development, procurement or other funding and regulatory policy measures, including for public health emergencies and disaster relief;

Encourages efforts to increase the availability of data to support the measurement of national innovation systems (such as the existing Global Innovation Index and the frontier technology readiness index of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) and empirical research on innovation and development to assist policymakers in designing and implementing innovation strategies in order to measure the impact of digital technologies for sustainable development;

Emphasizes the need to effectively harness technology to bridge the digital divides within countries and between developed and developing countries;

Calls for action to be taken to enhance the ability of developing countries to benefit from science, technology and innovation and address the major structural impediments to accessing new and emerging technologies, including through scaling up the use of open science, affordable and open-source technology, research and development, including through strengthened partnerships, strengthening their productive capacities and aiming to increase funding for Sustainable Development Goal-related research and innovation and build capacity in all regions to contribute to and benefit from this research;

Encourages enhanced capacity-building support for developing countries in order to generate the use of high-quality, timely and reliable disaggregated data, and also encourages international cooperation, including through technical and financial support, to strengthen the capacity of national statistical systems;

Also encourages existing arrangements and the further promotion of international, regional, subregional and interregional joint multi-stakeholder research and development projects, as well as training programmes and university-to-university collaborations where feasible, by mobilizing scientific and research development resources, facilities and equipment;

Calls upon Member States and the United Nations development system, and encourages other stakeholders, as appropriate, to continue to initiate, implement and support measures to improve the level of participation of scientists and engineers from developing countries in international collaborative research, science, technology and innovation projects;

Also calls upon Member States and the United Nations development system, and encourages other stakeholders, as appropriate, to continue to strengthen their support for the different science, technology and innovation partnerships with developing countries in primary, secondary and higher education, vocational education and continuing education; business opportunities for the private sector; science, technology and innovation infrastructure; and science, technology and innovation advice for developing countries;

Requests the Commission on Science and Technology for Development to continue to assist the Economic and Social Council as the focal point in the system-wide follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society and to continue its science, technology and innovation activities;

Encourages the Commission on Science and Technology for Development to discuss and explore innovative financing models, such as impact investment, as a means of attracting new stakeholders, innovators and sources of investment capital for science, technology, engineering and innovation-based solutions, in collaboration with other organizations, where appropriate;

Encourages the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, in collaboration with relevant partners, such as the World Intellectual Property Organization, the International Telecommunication Union, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the United Nations University, to continue to undertake science, technology and innovation policy reviews, with a view to assisting developing countries, upon request, in identifying the measures needed to integrate science, technology and innovation policies into their national development strategies and ensuring that they are supportive of national development agendas, as appropriate, and in this regard takes note of the new science, technology and innovation policy review framework developed by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development;

Calls for voluntary contributions to support the relevant entities in the United Nations development system, including the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, in their technical cooperation work in support of national innovation systems in developing countries;

Emphasizes the importance of better coordination and coherence among existing mechanisms, including the Technology Facilitation Mechanism, United Nations agencies and international organizations in providing support to Member States in the field of science, technology and innovation directed towards development priorities and needs;

Invites the Commission on Science and Technology for Development and the Technology Facilitation Mechanism to strengthen synergies and mutually reinforce their work on science, technology and innovation, and invites the Secretariat to coordinate the dates of their meetings in order to avoid overlap and to ensure coherence and coordination between both entities;

Continues to encourage the United Nations inter-agency task team on science, technology and innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals to further refine and update its mapping of science, technology and innovation activities in the United Nations system with a view to guiding further efforts at collaboration and capacity-building and formulating coherent advice for Member States advancing national science, technology and innovation frameworks within the 2030 Agenda, including through scaling up the Global Pilot Programme on Science, Technology and Innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals Road Maps;

Reiterates its call for voluntary contributions for resources to support the full operationalization of all components of the Technology Facilitation Mechanism, and invites Member States, as well as international organizations, foundations and the private sector, to provide increased voluntary financial contributions and technical assistance to the Mechanism;

Encourages the World Intellectual Property Organization to continue to undertake technical support activities, including helping countries to design, develop and implement national intellectual property and innovation strategies aligned with their development strategies;

Welcomes the operationalization of the Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries, and calls upon Member States and other stakeholders to provide voluntary funding to the trust fund of the Technology Bank so that it can pursue its objectives in the area of science, technology and innovation for the least developed countries;

Reaffirms support for the Innovation and Technology Mechanism of the Small Island Developing States Centre of Excellence to provide capacity-building and learning opportunities, exchange experiences and support innovation in small island developing States;

Notes with deep concern the existing disparities between developed and developing countries in terms of conditions, possibilities and capacities to produce new scientific and technological knowledge, and in this regard urges developed countries to urgently mobilize means of implementation such as technology transfer on mutually agreed terms, technical assistance, capacity-building and financing through new, additional and predictable resources in relation to the needs of developing countries, as appropriate, for the production of new scientific and technological knowledge, in accordance with developing countries’ national needs, policies and priorities;

Notes with concern that unfair practices could hinder technological development and innovation worldwide, in particular in developing countries, and calls upon the international community to foster an open, fair and inclusive environment for scientific and technological development;

Continues to encourage the United Nations system to take an active role in forging a closer link with national and multilateral science advisory bodies to optimally leverage science, technology and innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals, and looks forward to receiving updates and outcomes of the actions through the report of the Commission on Science and Technology for Development;

Calls upon the United Nations funds and programmes and the specialized agencies, the international community and international institutions, at the request of Member States, to support the efforts of the countries of the South to develop and strengthen their national science, technology and innovation systems through North-South, regional and international cooperation, including South-South and triangular cooperation, as well as leverage regional and subregional initiatives as a catalyst to scale access to science, technology, innovation and knowledge-sharing on mutually agreed terms;

Recognizes the importance of creating synergies, developing expertise and boosting resources in various regions and institutions, and in this regard takes note of the Summit on Science, Technology and Innovation of the Group of 77, held in Havana in September 2023, as an effort to boost cooperation in this field;

Reiterates its call for continued collaboration between United Nations entities and other international organizations, civil society, the private sector and academic and technical communities in their respective roles and responsibilities in implementing the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society;

Reaffirms the commitment at the very heart of the 2030 Agenda to leave no one behind and commit to taking more tangible steps to support people in vulnerable situations and the most vulnerable countries and to reach the furthest behind first;

Requests the President of the General Assembly to convene, during the eightieth session of the Assembly, a meeting on science, technology and innovation for development with a special focus on actions to address the needs of developing countries in those fields, in conjunction with the multi-stakeholder forum on science, technology and innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals, and requests the Secretary-General to consider these discussions in the drafting of his report on the implementation of the present resolution;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its eighty-second session a report on the implementation of the present resolution and recommendations for future follow-up, including lessons learned in integrating science, technology and innovation policies into national development strategies, as well as concrete recommendations in supporting the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, and decides to include in the provisional agenda of its eighty-second session, under the item entitled “Globalization and interdependence”, the sub-item entitled “Science, technology and innovation for sustainable development”.

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