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Biological Sciences

Knowledge systems for sustainable development

David W. Cash, William C. Clark, Frank Alcock, Nancy M. Dickson, Noelle Eckley, David H. Guston, Jill Jäger, and Ronald B. Mitchell
  1. *John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, 79 John F. Kennedy Street, Cambridge, MA 02138; ‡Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, Pierce Hall, 29 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138; §Program in Public Policy, Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers, State University of New Jersey, 33 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08903; ¶Initiative on Science and Technology for Sustainability, Arbeiterstrandbadstrasse 61, A-1210 Vienna, Austria; and ∥Department of Political Science, 1284 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-1284

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PNAS July 8, 2003 100 (14) 8086-8091; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1231332100
David W. Cash
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William C. Clark
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Frank Alcock
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Nancy M. Dickson
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Noelle Eckley
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David H. Guston
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Jill Jäger
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Ronald B. Mitchell
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  1. Communicated by Susan Hanson, Clark University, Worcester, MA, March 7, 2003 (received for review February 25, 2003)

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Abstract

The challenge of meeting human development needs while protecting the earth's life support systems confronts scientists, technologists, policy makers, and communities from local to global levels. Many believe that science and technology (S&T) must play a more central role in sustainable development, yet little systematic scholarship exists on how to create institutions that effectively harness S&T for sustainability. This study suggests that efforts to mobilize S&T for sustainability are more likely to be effective when they manage boundaries between knowledge and action in ways that simultaneously enhance the salience, credibility, and legitimacy of the information they produce. Effective systems apply a variety of institutional mechanisms that facilitate communication, translation and mediation across boundaries.

Footnotes

    • ↵† To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: david_cash{at}harvard.edu.

    • Abbreviations: S&T, science and technology; R&D, research and development; CGIAR, Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research; ENSO, El Niño/Southern Oscillation; CIMMYT, Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maiz y Trigo; PEAC, Pacific ENSO Applications Center.

    • Received February 25, 2003.
    • Copyright © 2003, The National Academy of Sciences
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    Knowledge systems for sustainable development
    David W. Cash, William C. Clark, Frank Alcock, Nancy M. Dickson, Noelle Eckley, David H. Guston, Jill Jäger, Ronald B. Mitchell
    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Jul 2003, 100 (14) 8086-8091; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1231332100

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    Knowledge systems for sustainable development
    David W. Cash, William C. Clark, Frank Alcock, Nancy M. Dickson, Noelle Eckley, David H. Guston, Jill Jäger, Ronald B. Mitchell
    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Jul 2003, 100 (14) 8086-8091; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1231332100
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    • Biological Sciences
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    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: 100 (14)
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