UNDP and RISE Launch SDG TrendScanner: the use of disruptive trends to help advance 2030 Agenda

New York, July 19  – The UN Development Programme (UNDP) and RISE Research Institutes of Sweden on Tuesday this week jointly launched ‘SDG TrendScanner’— a new initiative to explore ways to use rapid and disruptive trends to help advance the 2030 Agenda and deliver on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Disruptive trends are becoming increasingly important because it changes the way we think, behave or do business. It uproots traditional thinking and alters the way we go about our day-to-day activities, as many of the technologies underpinning them are more powerful and interlinked than ever. The SDG TrendScanner initiative will enable companies, the public sector, and other stakeholders to strategically use trends as drivers for accelerated progress towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, including by catalyzing scalable innovations and opportunities for public-private partnerships.

“Disruptive trends in technologies, business models and values, sometimes perceived as threats, can be harnessed and leveraged to empower people and countries to pursue their development aspirations. We look forward to working with RISE and explore the opportunities that our joint SDG Trend Scanner initiative provides,” said Abdoulaye Mar Dieye, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director of UNDP’s Bureau for Policy and Programme Support.

Through this joint initiative, UNDP and RISE will engage with key stakeholders such as the industry leaders, international organizations and academia to help facilitate a platform of collaboration and partnership opportunities. The partnership will also explore ways for different stakeholders to use disruptive trends through collaborative research, innovative pilots in specific areas, development of new tools or expansion of existing tools to leverage trends for global sustainability, and capacity development of policymakers and relevant stakeholders towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals.

Ms. Kajsa B Olofsgård, Sweden’s Ambassador for the 2030 Agenda, stated, “We live in times with fast technological and societal changes; with a need to understand and adapt in a pace we are not accustomed to. The challenges raised by climate change, conflicts and increasing amounts of people in vulnerable conditions are also more imperative than ever. We must be capable of finding solutions and actions that not only present a short-term relief but takes us in the direction of the world we want to create for ourselves and for coming generations. The SDG TrendScanner initiative will provide us with better basis for wise decisions.”

“Global sustainability and the 2030 Agenda are rapidly emerging as key drivers for innovation. For RISE this collaboration is an important step towards our goal to become a stronger innovation partner for businesses and society. We will bring decades of innovation experience and look forward to use different parts of our organization in collaboration with UNDP to ensure a successful outcome of the SDG TrendScanner initiative,” said RISE CEO Pia Sandvik.

Media Queries:

At UNDP: Sangita Khadka, Communications Specialist, UNDP Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, sangita.khadka@undp.org, Tel: +1 212 906 5043

At RISE: Dennis Pamlin, Senior Advisor, RISE: +46 10 516 60 07, dennis.pamlin@ri.se