In August 2023, the Secretary-General appointed a Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) to advise UN leaders on breakthroughs in science and technology, fulfilling a commitment made in the Our Common Agenda report. The speed and scale of technological change, combined with interconnected global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and emerging health threats, require UN leadership to have access to cutting-edge scientific insights.
The SAB seeks to transform how science is used within the UN—shifting from narrow, siloed expertise to knowledge that is widely shared across headquarters, country offices and programmes. This initiative arrives at a critical moment when the pace and interconnectivity of scientific and technological development have accelerated dramatically, creating both unprecedented opportunities and challenges for global governance.
This project represents a strategic partnership between UNU-CPR and the Executive Office of the Secretary-General. UNU-CPR’s primary role in this partnership is to provide science-policy briefs and research on key scientific topics ahead of multilateral processes and engagements, while also helping to disseminate breakthrough insights to UN leaders and the Resident Coordinator system.
Outputs include:
- A policy brief on neurotechnology covering the latest developments in brain-computer interfaces, ethical implications and privacy concerns.
- A policy brief on synthetic biology addressing its transformative impacts, including on health, security and the environment.
- A policy brief on verification of frontier AI models examining the challenges of verifying advanced AI systems and the implications for governance, safety and public trust.
- A policy brief on the biology of aging highlighting breakthroughs in geroscience and the social, ethical and environmental considerations of longer lifespans.
- A policy brief on quantum computing exploring its transformative potential across sectors and the security and equity risks of uncoordinated advances.
- A policy brief on solar radiation modification analysing the potential for cooling the planet and the profound environmental, governance and ethical risks involved.
- A policy brief on deep-sea mining outlining the environmental and policy risks of seabed resource extraction and the need for precautionary approaches.
Policy briefs are produced through extensive consultations with board members, scientific network institutions and global experts, and are grounded in comprehensive reviews of the latest scientific literature.