The article addresses key issues of knowledge generation and distribution for sustainable development in a global context and considers them against the background of profound societal changes. In a first part, the conditions under which knowledge mobilization takes place in the 21st century are analysed. One focus is on the question of why knowledge distribution is necessary and what hurdles it has to overcome. In the second part, strategies are presented to overcome constraints to knowledge mobilization. These strategies concern working with communities, institutional and organisational reforms, and education and teaching. The proposals are based on interviews with a total of 15 experts from transdisciplinary sustainability research and science policy.
The German UNESCO Commission will soon publish the article in German translation on its website.