The Global Association of Master’s in Development Practice Programs (MDP), in collaboration with the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), will hold the 12th Annual International Conference on Sustainable Development (ICSD) on 19-20 September, 2024. The conference will be hybrid, with the parallel sessions taking place fully remotely on 19 September and the high-level segment on September 20 (virtual and in-person). If you would like to present at the conference, you must submit an abstract as directed below. The conference is also open to observers (i.e. non-presenters). Simply register on the conference website to join us. Registration will open in July 2024.
The theme of the 2024 ICSD is “Solutions for the Future”. The aim of the conference is to bring together persons involved in research, policy, practice, and business, in advance of the 2024 United Nations Summit of the Future. Participants will share practical solutions for achieving the SDGs at local and national levels. This year ICSD will accept abstracts within 7 themes, several of which have different “tracks” within them. Abstracts should be directly relevant to one of the themes and subsequent tracks (detailed descriptions on the following pages).
1A Elevating the pluriverse: Indigenous and diverse visions for sustainable development solutions
1B Children, youth and the future of the SDGs
1C Intergenerational dialogues to improve policy and accountability at all levels of governance
2A Creating global value chain resilience through digitalization
2B Advancement and use of AI by institutions of higher of education for sustainable development
3A Nature-based solutions for local climate challenges
3B Integrating energy and land-use pathways
3C Interlinkages and challenges of energy poverty mitigation and energy transitions
3D Energy transitions within complex social-ecological systems and a global economy
3E Responsible Consumption-Production-Recycling as a solution to Climate Challenge
4C Climate change adaptation of vulnerable neighborhoods
5A Does Indigenous Knowledge Hold the Key for Sustaining Food Security and Nutrition?
5B Reducing waste to end hunger
5C Assessing Agriculture and Food Systems Transformation
6A Mission-oriented research to accelerate SDG solutions
6B Artistic and visual approaches to narrate sustainability research
6C Student-led disruption of higher education for sustainable development
7A ESG as a lever for creating sustainable businesses
7B Improving the science-policy nexus to accelerate the sustainability transition
7C The new geopolitics of global development
Interested presenters should submit an abstract of at least 300 words but not exceeding 500 words, in English, by 1 May 2024, via the form below. Each abstract may only be submitted once and under one track. Failure to answer questions on the submission form or the submission of the same abstract under multiple tracks is likely to result in the abstract being declined.
The scientific committee will review abstracts and send all decision letters by 9 June 2024. Abstracts can be accepted as either poster or oral (i.e. PowerPoint) presentations. Presenters invited to give oral presentations must submit a full paper by 1 August 2024, in order to maintain their position in the program. Presenters who do not register before the 1 September 2024, deadline may also forfeit their spot in the agenda.
Abstract Timeline
| 1 March 2024 | Call for Abstracts Open |
| 1 May 2024 | Deadline for Submission of Abstracts |
| 9 June 2024 | Abstract Decision Letters Emailed |
| 1 August 2024 | Full Papers Due (only abstracts accepted for oral presentation) |
| 1 September 2024 | Registration Deadline for Presenters |
1. Amplifying all Voices for SDG Achievement
1A Elevating the pluriverse: Indigenous and diverse visions for sustainable development solutions
Chairs: Tamara Dionne Stout, University of Winnipeg; Dave Wilsey, University of Minnesota
With layered environmental crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, food and water insecurity, etc., there is urgency to address and redress our relationships with societies and nature. This session seeks create space for learning about innovative case studies and projects, undertaken by Indigenous and other, like-minded communities that showcase the many distinct and relational approaches to enhanced well-being for all that are needed to transform how we live on the planet. The session will bring forward Indigenous and diverse visions and approaches to sustainable development solutions.
1B Children, youth and the future of the SDGs
Chairs: Karen Brown, University of Minnesota; Susan Murphy, Trinity College Dublin
By providing a set of collective, global goals, the SDGs offer a necessarily future-oriented framework for global sustainable development. Looking ahead to 2030 and beyond, the SDGs rely upon today’s children and youth for their future realization. Conversely, today’s young people will be most significantly affected by our progress (or lack of progress) toward the Goals. Given this, it is imperative to understand the relationship between children/youth and achieving the SDGs. Children and youth will provide the leadership for future realization of sustainable development progress. To create longterm, future solutions, we must understand the roles played by young people.
1C Intergenerational dialogues to improve policy and accountability at all levels of governance
Chairs: Patrick Paul Walsh, University College Dublin; Edna Murphy, University College Dublin; Aparajita Banerjee, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
Intergenerational dialogues bring together individuals of different age groups, and can be used to achieve numerous objectives, including improved governance. This session seeks case studies and analyses of how intergenerational dialogue can improve processes such as agenda setting, implementation, and follow up and review. The ambition is to change the discount rate, which prioritizes today over the future. Planning and implementation should embody future generations’ welfare across all policy dimensions of sustainable development (economic, social and environmental) at all levels of governance.
2. Digitalization
2A Creating global value chain resilience through digitalization
Chairs: John Dilyard, St. Francis College (Emeritus); Jacqueline You, University of York
The COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical conflicts, and extreme weather events have shown that the global value chains on which global commerce depends need to be more resilient. This topic examines how digitalizing the global value chains (GVCs) of multinational corporations (MNCs) can increase resilience and improve adaptability to unforeseen events. This topic invites papers and/or presentations which (a) detail how some MNCs already are using digitalization to make their GVCs more resilient, and (b) discuss blueprints for how GVC digitalization can be expedited for any MNC.
2B Advancement and use of AI by institutions of higher of education for sustainable development
Chairs: Lucia Rodriguez, SDSN; Mark Orrs, Colorado School of Mines
Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to revolutionize institutions of higher education (IHEs), but currently, there is limited understanding of how it is specifically utilized in this context. To fully integrate AI into IHEs, it is crucial to develop early case studies and conduct research that can shed light on its practical applications. These studies and research initiatives can provide valuable insights into how AI can support higher education students throughout their academic journey, both inside the classroom and in the field. Furthermore, exploring the incorporation of AI in the sustainable development field could be highly beneficial. By gaining a deeper understanding of how AI is used within the higher education landscape, valuable guidance can be provided for creating and/or implementing sustainable development initiatives and programs.
3. Climate Change
3A Nature-based solutions for local climate challenges
Chairs: Román Alejandro Canul Turriza, Autonomous University of Campeche; Dea Cárdenas, Autonomous University of Colima; Roselia Turriza Mena, Autonomous University of Campeche
Nature-based solutions refer to a set of actions or policies that harness the power of nature to address some of our most pressing societal challenges, such as the threat of water availability, the increasing risk of natural disasters, and global climate change. We encourage submissions that are exploring nature-based solutions, including planning, implementing, and the success of the solutions.
3B Integrating energy and land-use pathways
Chairs: Phoebe Koundouri, Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB); Dellis Kostas, Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB)
Integrating energy and land-use is critical for achieving long-term development and environmental sustainability. This technique combines land resource planning and utilization with energy production to obtain the best possible results for both sectors. Smart urban planning, integrating renewable energy projects into current land uses, and increasing resource efficiency are all key components of this integration. When done well, thoughtful planning can reduce environmental damage while increasing renewable energy production and efficiency. This session invites papers on integrating energy and land-use paths as a forward-thinking strategy to address interconnected challenges, including climate change, resource management, and social well-being.
3C Interlinkages and challenges of energy poverty mitigation and energy transitions
Chairs: João Pedro Gouveia, NOVA University of Lisbon; Teresa Cuerdo Vilches, Eduardo Torroja Institute for Construction Sciences
The rise of energy poverty poses a pressing social concern, jeopardizing the well-being of numerous individuals across the global north-south spectrum. This complex issue transcends individual households, intertwining with economic, technological, and social systems, each with unique geographical considerations. Navigating the intersection of sustainable energy transitions, energy equity concerns, and energy poverty presents a novel challenge. Our objective in this session is to highlight existing obstacles, diagnostic initiatives, and pioneering projects that offer solutions to address this multifaceted problem on various fronts.
3D Energy transitions within complex social-ecological systems and a global economy
Chairs: Jorge Gómez-Paredes, Novia University of Applied Sciences and Duke University; Alex Godoy-Faúndez, Chilean University for Development and Harvard University
Climate action requires an urgent global transition towards sustainable energy systems. The main challenge lies in devising and implementing effective solutions within complex social-ecological systems and our globalized economy. Tackling this challenge demands a comprehensive approach that takes into account economic, social, and environmental indicators to ensure that the transition is based on social inclusion and environmental sustainability. This session welcomes studies and analyses on energy solutions/transitions, particularly those that apply “nexus approaches” (e.g., SDGs-nexus, the water-energy-food-ecosystem nexus) and evaluate effects along global value chains (“spillover effects”) across countries. The session also welcomes studies that highlight obstacles or challenges for the effective implementation of energy transition pathways.
3E Responsible Consumption-Production-Recycling as a solution to Climate Challenge
John Dilyard, St. Francis College (Emeritus); Elizabeth Wang, University of Leeds
Historically, a key measure of how well an economy is performing is how much it consumes and produces. A consequence of consumption and production, though, has been to severely harm the environment and severely strain the resources needed to meet future consumption. One approach for dealing with this problem is simply to consume and produce less. While intellectually appealing, this is difficult to do given our ‘dependence’ on consumption and production. Another approach, however, is to determine how to consume and produce more responsibly. This is where a circular economy comes in – determining how something can be consumed over and over again, and how production and recycling can be configured to use resources over and over again. Research has recognized that responsible recycling can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions but highlight the lack of an integrated approach in practice. This topic invites papers and presentations which explore theoretically how a circular economy can be implemented and/or provide real world examples of the effective use of circular economy practices, in cities or within global value chains.
4. Cities and Communities
4A Infrastructure, service delivery, governance, and digital transformation for smart, sustainable cities
Chairs: Dillip Kumar Das, University of KwaZulu-Natal; Fidelis Emuze, Central University of Technology, Free State
This track will explore the intricate dynamics between digital transformation, infrastructure development, service delivery, and governance to foster smart sustainable cities. Despite the acknowledged significance of each element in the urban development literature, their interdependency and collaborative potential remain underexplored. We seek papers addressing key questions regarding the frameworks, challenges, and practical implications of integrating digital technologies within traditional urban systems, especially empirical evidence and case studies. Furthermore, the effectiveness of governance structures in facilitating collaboration among stakeholders is understudied.
4B Mainstreaming climate change and disaster risk reduction in urban and rural planning to achieve the SDGs
Chairs: Tabassam Raza, University of the Philippines; Dina C. Magnaye, University of the Philippines; Carmelita R.E.U. Liwag, University of the Philippines
Climate change and escalating disaster risks necessitate the integration of these factors into planning frameworks to cultivate resilient communities and attain the SDGs. This session provides a platform to share practical work or research into the fundamental interconnections among climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, and sustainable development, emphasizing the incorporation of climate change and disaster risk reduction considerations into planning processes. The session will examine exemplary practices, innovative strategies, and case studies across diverse geographic contexts, elucidating effective methods for integrating climate change and disaster risk considerations into both urban and rural planning. Additionally, research presentations may encompass topics such as enhancing infrastructure resilience, promoting ecosystem-based adaptation, fostering community engagement, and utilizing technology and data-driven approaches for informed decision-making.
4C Climate change adaptation of vulnerable neighborhoods
Chairs: Sonia De Gregorio Hurtado, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid; Emmanuel C. Cunningham Sabot, Ecole Normale Supérieure; David Trent Holzman, New York University; Francesco Guarino, University of Palermo
The climate emergency has to be addressed through ambitious policies to mitigate greenhouse emissions and adapt to climate change. In relation to the latter, advancing adaptation to climate change in cities is an urgent task. Urban areas concentrate populations, buildings, infrastructure, and activities, making them very vulnerable to extreme weather events. There is abundant literature on the issue; however, the adaptation of vulnerable neighborhoods, those that are less resilient, with fewer resources, and which require urgent physical transformation, has not been sufficiently addressed. Adapting vulnerable urban areas to climate change is a condition to put into place policies that do not leave anyone behind with the aim of achieving equitable climate resilience. This session seeks papers from different geographical areas to give rise to a framework for reflection on this topic.
5. Agri-food Systems
5A Does Indigenous Knowledge Hold the Key for Sustaining Food Security and Nutrition?
Chairs: Chubbamenla Jamir, Climate Studies and Knowledge Solutions Centre and Mountain Agriculture Thematic Group of the Himalayan Universities Consortium; Nazmun N. Ratna, Lincoln University
While there has been a burgeoning focus on the impact of gender, natural hazards, and displacement on food security and nutrition (FSN), empirical evidence on FSN in hill and mountains regions (HMR), remains opaque, and particularly the impact of Indigenous knowledge on food systems. To date, studies have highlighted how high climate vulnerability, further strengthened by harsh environmental and topographic conditions, limits food production and market access in hill and mountain regions.
Hill and mountain regions worldwide are home to many Indigenous communities and host a wide range of crop biodiversity. These communities have evolved techniques of producing food and meeting their nutritional requirements. As most farmers in these regions are small-scale, rainfed farmers, their unique food production and consumption practices can provide a vast pool of information on building resilience and sustaining food systems within and beyond hill and mountain regions in the future.
5B Reducing waste to end hunger
Chairs: John Dilyard, St. Francis College (Emeritus); Shasha Zhao, Surrey University Business School
While tremendous strides have been made over the last several decades in reducing global poverty, progress toward reducing global hunger has been less impressive. Indeed, food insecurity continues to be a persistent global problem and can be found in rich as well poor countries. The reasons for food insecurity are many, involving availability, distribution, economic, and environmental factors. But waste, which can occur before and after food is harvested, also is a factor. Waste before harvest reduces what can be turned into food; waste after harvest reduces what gets sold. Global warming will continue to cause problems for where, when, and how much food can be grown; therefore, reducing waste is a necessity to address food insecurity. Papers and presentations in this topic will describe/discuss strategies that are or could be being used to reduce global food waste and, as a result, reduce global hunger.
5C Assessing Agriculture and Food Systems Transformation
Chairs: Olawale Olayide, University of Ibadan; Desalegn Ayal, Addis Ababa University
Future food systems will face many challenges, including increasing population and demographic shifts, climate change, technological adoption, sustainability, changing culture and tastes, and artificial intelligence. Hence, we need to transform current agriculture and food systems to meet the needs of the future. This session invites papers on solutions to the challenges facing agri-food systems, including improving research uptake, increasing investment, and advancing environmental sustainability.
6. Advancing Impactful Research and Education
6A Mission-oriented research to accelerate SDG solutions
Chairs: Tahl Kestin, Monash Sustainable Development Institute; Julio Lumbreras, Technical University of Madrid (UPM), Jordi Peris, Universitat Politècnica de València
Academic research and innovation are critical for developing and implementing solutions to sustainable development challenges and the SDGs. In recent years, the concept of mission-oriented research has been advanced as a way to accelerate and scale-up the impact of research and innovation. Research missions are goal-based and outcome-oriented frameworks for setting research agendas, and for encouraging multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary collaboration. They have been used in a range of contexts, such to frame funding calls or to drive research clusters. In this session we will explore how this approach can be implemented successfully. We invite contributions discussing examples of mission-oriented research programs at the institution-scale (or department-scale), and the successes, challenges, and best-practices of implementing them. Submission of a conference paper is optional for this session.
6B Artistic and visual approaches to narrate sustainability research
Chairs: Veronica Polin, University of Verona; Laura Cavalli, Catholic University of Milan
Theoretical and empirical literature on various sustainability issues is becoming increasingly substantial. The potential of this new knowledge to trigger cultural, social, and economic transformation is also influenced by its ability to engage citizens. What tools and media do the research community use to disseminate the results of their studies on different dimensions of sustainability? What contribution can art make, especially through a creative visual approach, to effectively reach key stakeholders and initiate reflective and transformative processes? What are the key ingredients to create innovative visual instruments to contribute to promoting a culture of sustainability? This session will delve into this significant, yet underexplored, topic.
6C Student-led disruption of higher education for sustainable development
Chairs: Wendy Purcell, Rutgers University; Julio Lumbreras, Technical University of Madrid (UPM)
Students are agents of change and leaders, both now and in the future. As global citizens their efforts are key to creating a world that leaves no one behind. But are universities and colleges delivering on the contemporary needs of students? The dominant pedagogy has changed little since the 19th-century, while learning pathways and curricula reflect 20th-century professions and ways of working. Are we truly offering students the learning opportunities the 21st century demands? This session will focus on student-led disruption and the ways higher education institutions are changing what they teach and how they teach it to accommodate purpose-driven students for the radical adaptive changes needed to drive engagement with the SDGs and accelerate delivery of solutions.
7. Enhancing Governance in Diverse Sectors
7A ESG as a lever for creating sustainable businesses
Chairs: John Dilyard, St. Francis College (Emeritus); Elizabeth Wang, University of Leeds; Irene Margaret, University of Liverpool
An increasing number of investors have begun to use environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance criteria to determine how to allocate their investments. Using ESG allows investors to assess the effect businesses are having on society and the environment, and to hold them accountable to the claims they are making about their effect on society and the environment. Presumably, the adoption of new and better business models will result from businesses hoping to receive a high ESG rating. So far, though, ESG investing is more vision than practice; it lacks the universally accepted definitions and reporting guidelines that would leave to better governance and accountability. Rather than abandon ESG, attention should be paid to how to effectively turn it into a lever that will entice businesses to perform better. This topic welcomes papers/presentations that delve deeper into the practice and promise of ESG-based investing.
7B Improving the science-policy nexus to accelerate the sustainability transition
Chairs: Stella Tsani, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens; Chrysi Chitou, University of Ioannina
Midway to meeting the targets set by the 2030 Agenda, priority areas and actions need to be identified to accelerate the sustainability transition. These necessitate science-driven, well-informed policy choices. However, all too often policy is made in the absence of, or contra-to, evidence-based recommendations, weakening the effectiveness of policy and undermining governance. This session aims to comprehensively examine the diverse landscape of suboptimal policies (e.g. harmful subsidies) across various sectors (e.g., agriculture, energy, water, etc.), and propose pathways forward for well-informed future solutions. Through evidence-based policy recommendations, this session seeks to raise awareness and mobilize action among policymakers, stakeholders, and the global community. Researchers working on related socioeconomic and environmental issues are invited to contribute theoretical and empirical insights.
7C The new geopolitics of global development
Chairs: Pádraig Carmody, Trinity College Dublin; Ricardo Reboredo, Metropolitan University of Prague
The 21st Century will be characterized by new geopolitics, distinct from those of the 20th Century. Former world powers like the USA, France, and the UK are playing smaller roles, while new powers, such as China (now the world’s largest economy in purchasing power parity terms), are growing in influence. China, Saudi Arabia, and others are having massive impacts on global development through a variety of channels including trade, investment, aid, debt, carbon emissions, and others. This session will explore the multifold impacts of changing geopolitics on “global” development. We welcome papers focused on different regions of the world, case studies, quantitative analyses, and other methodologies. We are interested in both the current development impacts of states, companies, diaspora populations, and other vectors of engagement, as well as how new international governance frameworks and spheres of influence can be better harnessed to create more sustainable development.