IIASA Deputy Director General at the 2026 Global Research Council Annual Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand

© Karen Lips

On 18 May 2026, Lips will deliver the keynote address at a GRC side event titled “Harnessing Systems Thinking, Open Science, and Research Metrics to Maximize SDG Impact: Advancing Sustainable and Resilient Communities”. The session will bring together research funders and global partners to explore how funding agencies can strengthen sustainable development outcomes through more integrated, transparent, and evidence-informed approaches.

The event is designed as a strategic and interactive exchange focused on practical insights for research councils, funding agencies, and the broader research ecosystem. Lips’ keynote will serve as the strategic framing intervention for the session, helping to connect systems approaches, open science, and SDG impact measurement as mutually reinforcing dimensions for advancing sustainable and resilient communities. Her address will highlight why complex sustainability challenges require integrated and systems-informed approaches rather than siloed funding responses. It will also explore how systems thinking and integrated analysis can help funders better understand interdependencies, trade-offs, and leverage points across the SDGs, while supporting more effective program design, evaluation, and long-term investment strategies. She will emphasize the importance of inclusive and equitable open science in strengthening collaboration, participation, transparency, and knowledge accessibility, as well as the growing relevance of SDG-aligned impact metrics and evidence-informed approaches for accountability and strategic decision-making. In line with the IIASA mission, Lips will also address the role of international collaboration, shared infrastructures, and cross-regional learning in building a stronger global research ecosystem.

The side event program includes case study presentations and an interactive panel discussion, in which Lips will also participate alongside representatives from research and funding organizations across Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia, including South Africa’s National Research Foundation, the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation of Ghana, the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology, the Lebanon National Council for Scientific Research, and the Department of Science and Technology of the Philippines.