Through a diverse and growing global membership of over 230 organizations, namely international scientific unions, national academies of natural and social sciences, research councils, and other scientific bodies, the ISC has a unique capacity to integrate scientific excellence and science – policy expertise from all fields of science and all regions of the world.
Advancing human development within sustainable planetary and social boundaries is the most important challenge for humanity and for science. To deliver on the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDGs), we must urgently intensify fair and equitable transformations to sustainability across all sectors – science, policy, business and civil society.
The vision of the International Science Council is to advance science as a global public good. This means that scientific knowledge, data and expertise must be universally accessible and its benefits universally shared. The practice of science must be inclusive and equitable, as must also be opportunities for scientific education and capacity development.
The mission of the ISC is to act as the global voice of (and for) science. As part of that mission, the ISC:
- Speaks for the value of all science- and evidence-informed decision-making.
- Stimulates and supports international scientific research and scholarship on major issues of global concern.
- Articulates scientific knowledge on such issues in the public domain.
- Brings the voice of science to the highest level of policy-making – through the United Nations and other multilateral fora.
- Promotes the continued and equal advancement of scientific rigour, creativity and relevance in all parts of the world.
- Defends the free and responsible practice of science.