Abstract
We live in a time of unprecedented advance in science and technology, with global annual spending on research and development (R&D) now exceeding a trillion dollars. Yet development challenges have also grown. For many people and places, poverty is deepening, and the environment is in crisis. Thousands of children die daily from waterborne diseases, and more than a billion people go hungry. Meeting the interlinked global challenges of poverty reduction, social justice and environmental sustainability is the great moral and political imperative of our age, and moreover, one that must be pursued in an increasingly complex and interconnected world. Science, technology and innovation of many kinds have essential roles to play. However, in this chapter, the author argues that this imperative can only be fulfilled if there is a radical shift in how we think about and perform innovation – amounting to a new politics.
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Notes
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Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo (CIMMYT).
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Acknowledgements
This chapter is based on the work of the ESRC STEPS (Social, Technological and Environmental Pathways to Sustainability) Centre (www.steps-centre.org) and, in particular, its globally collaborative project to produce a ‘New Manifesto’ for innovation, sustainability and development (STEPS Centre 2010; see also Leach et al. 2010). Many of the arguments made here draw directly on the New Manifesto, and acknowledgement is therefore due to the STEPS Centre co-directors, team members, international partners and particularly the project Convenor Adrian Ely for their essential contributions.
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Leach, M. (2012). Sustainability, Development, Social Justice: Towards a New Politics of Innovation. In: Bolay, JC., Schmid, M., Tejada, G., Hazboun, E. (eds) Technologies and Innovations for Development. Springer, Paris. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-2-8178-0268-8_2
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