At the United Nations University, researchers and policy makers across the globe work together to solve big problems and share knowledge.
Dr. Erick Tambo, an associate academic officer at the United Nations University Vice-Rectorate in Bonn, Germany and head of the Pan-African Cooperation and Educational Technologies division (PACET), in Niger which aims to foster innovation and sustainable development in agriculture, October 2024. (Photo courtesy of the United Nations)
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In 2024, Kenya awarded its prestigious and competitive Presidential Innovation Award to Agritech Analytics, a woman-led tech company that uses satellite data and crop and soil sensors to help smallholder African farmers boost crop yields.
Maryanne Gichanga is the CEO of Agritech Analytics.Her path to the award and the company’s success was through a project called Greenovations, initiated by Dr. Erick Tambo, an associate academic officer at the United Nations University Vice-Rectorate in Bonn, Germany and head of the Pan-African Cooperation and Educational Technologies division (PACET).
Founded 50 years ago by the United Nations and headquartered in Tokyo, UNU’s 13 institutes in 12 countries bring together academics, experts and practitioners across a wide array of thematic areas to craft roadmaps for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs.
The university’s Rector Professor Tshilidzi Marwala, has a vision for UNU to create knowledge that advances sustainable development in partnership with other like-minded academic institutions across geographic borders. Based in Tokyo, Marwala is unequivocal about the importance of grounding UNU’s research in promoting sustainable development.
The knowledge must be translatable into language that UN agencies and national governments can use to achieve a more just, sustainable society.
Taking a long view
Promoting useful scientific discoveries aligned with the SDGs, UNU institutes take a long view on current and future global issues that will be relevant beyond four or five-year election cycles. Thematically, the breadth of research is vast, from tackling drought to UN Peacebuilding, conflict and migration, water, technology and much more.
Dr. Mindel Van de Laar, head of capacity development at UNU-MERIT in the Netherlands, said the university takes a long view because sustainability doesn’t go away in four years. “UNU’s institutes focus on [generating] sound evidence,” she said.
One pressing world issue much researched by a number of UNU institutes is how generative artificial intelligence and related technological innovations are transforming the way we work, live and interact.
Marwala said that AI can be transformative in the Global South.
“If you ask a conventional policymaker what giving access to AI means to the Global South, the answer is access to data,” Marwala said. “We tackle the policy issues of data poverty — how do you facilitate access to the applications of this technology in health, agriculture and transportation.”
There is a digital divide.
According to the Global Risks Report 2024 of the World Economic Forum, the digital gap between high- and low-income countries risks leaving vulnerable countries digitally isolated from turbocharged AI breakthroughs impacting economic productivity, finance, climate, education, healthcare and more.
Dr. Eleonore Fournier-Tombs, who has the unwieldy title of Head of Anticipatory Action and Innovation at the UNU Centre for Policy Research in New York is one of the UN’s experts on AI and digital technology.
Fournier-Tombs is paying attention to the development of AI in the Global South and the role of public policy and governance in minimising associated social and economic risks.
“I have been thinking about supporting the AI ecosystems in the Global South,” Fournier-Tombs said. “They must not be dependent on technologies from the Global North. Many urban centres [in the Global South] have interesting innovations but fewer resources.”
She says AI ecosystems include universities teaching and spinning off start-ups underpinned by supportive government funding and public policy. Without these strong tech ecosystems, too many people will take their skills and expertise to countries and companies with more money and opportunities.
Stemming a brain drain
The brain drain for Africa’s tech researchers and entrepreneurs is a real threat to future prosperity. Without a clear path to employment, the best and brightest will instead migrate to universities and employers in the Global North. The countries risk losing their future contributions at home.
Fournier-Tombs is also researching machine learning models that analyse and measure the quality of parliamentary deliberations and how they influence public policy. The next iteration of Sustainable Development Goals in 2030 could use the models to evaluate how to structure the dialogue to be more inclusive and participatory. She is hopeful this can lead to more equitable contributions from all nations.
UNU’s approach is also grounded in training future innovators and policymakers — from granting graduate degrees to offering post-docs and internships.
Van de Laar says that it’s not just about knowledge; it’s also about skills. The university educates students in global citizenship, encouraging them to understand what academics are saying, why it matters and how to use it productively.
Many, if not most, of its institutes are also active in non-degree, capacity-building learning. By training relevant stakeholders on what the research means and helping them understand how to use it, the university tries to bridge the academic-public policy divide.
A network of global citizens
With students and executives from around the world learning together, this approach also creates new global networks of global citizens.
Nidhi Polekar is a master’s degree student in political science at Northeastern University in Boston that is partnered with the UNU Centre for Policy Research. Polekar spent four months in the fall of 2024 working on AI with Fournier-Tombs.
“It was a defining and necessary experience to understand AI policy and governance at a global level,” Polekar said.
Out of her experience she published a thoughtful article on how AI can shape public discourse and the governance approaches needed to reduce the risks related to data privacy and ethical artificial intelligence.
Beyond the knowledge gained, Polekar also credits the experience with giving her a broad network to tap into as she pursues her career ambitions.
Strengthening the role of the United Nations
Today, the UN is under unprecedented stress. Member governments are reallocating resources from poverty reduction in developing countries to addressing global challenges like climate change, pandemics and migration.
These shifts, combined with fiscal realities and geopolitical tensions, are raising serious questions about the UN’s integrity and credibility.
Tambo said that the research and knowledge created within UNU should inform policy solutions across the United Nations and member countries. His seminal research into the challenges faced by Africa’s women climate innovators was the genesis for Greenovations, which helped Agritech Analytics grow.
“UNU is a convening institution,” Tambo said. “We are between research and development cooperation. We bring together different actors who typically work in silos — the technology hub, the funders, the policy makers — because it can be difficult for these different stakeholders to connect with the evidence needed [to make better decisions].”
By bringing together academic experts and practitioners, UNU creates a roadmap for the United Nations in a world that demands greater clarity, accountability and inclusivity in addressing multilateral challenges.
This article was updated to correct the title of Dr. Erick Tambo.
Three questions to consider:
1. What is the United Nations University?
2. What does the author mean by a research and data divide?
3. If you were chosen to research solutions to a big problem in your region, what would problem would you tackle?
Susanne Courtney is a freelance journalist and writer based in Canada. A former Fellow in Global Journalism at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, her writing focuses primarily on international affairs, international development and development finance. Recently she authored the 2021 State of the Sector Report on Canada's Impact Investing in Emerging and Frontier Markets.
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