As of January 2026, SCNAT turned its Sustainability Research Initiative (SRI) into a cross-disciplinary and transversal competence centre with a new strategic leadership body, the SRI Board: 

• President: Christian Pohl (ETH Zurich - Director USYS TdLab and Head of Institute for Environmental Decisions) 
  
• Regina Betz (ZHAW - Head of Center for Energy and the Environment)
  
• Thomas Breu (University of Bern - Director of Centre for Development and Environment)
• Stuart Lane (University of Lausanne - Institute of Earth Surface Dynamics and Vice-President for Research Funding, Swiss National Science Foundation)
  
• Heike Mayer (University of Bern - Vice-Rector for Quality and Sustainable Development; and Institute of Geography)
  
• Marlyne Sahakian (University of Geneva - Department of Sociology and Geneva School of Social Sciences)
• Ulrike Sturm (HSLU - Vice-director Department of Social Work)

We are very pleased to collaborate with our new expert board! More

How can we prepare for tomorrow in a complex world? In a joint project with the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), we are strengthening our foresight process to identify relevant sustainability issues at an early stage. On 24 February 2026, leading experts from Switzerland and across Europe came together to share insights on the use of AI in foresight and on best practices in methodological approaches. More

L’état de la biodiversité en Suisse reste insuffisant. Toutefois, le déclin s’est ralenti depuis le début du millénaire et, localement, des évolutions positives peuvent être constatées. C'est ce que révèle un nouveau rapport du Forum Biodiversité, qui a analysé, en collaboration avec plus de 50 expert·e·s, des publications scientifiques récentes et des données issues du monitoring. Plus/zur deutschen Version

A new publication of the CASRI project finds that siloed structures and the need to engage various societal sectors and governance levels pose significant challenges to effective collaboration between science, policy, practice, and society in Europe. The paper proposes to invest in greater recognition of inclusive participation. It draws on national surveys from 14 countries. The SRI together with the Federal Office for the Environment FOEN contributed the Swiss part. More

td-net and Schweiz forscht, the Swiss Academies’ networks for transdisciplinary research and citizen science, are looking for projects that combine transdisciplinary approaches with citizen science to conduct impact-oriented sustainability research. The main purpose is to give visibility to existing projects and improve the framework conditions for impact-oriented research in Switzerland.

Submission deadline: 31 March 2026. More

Which publications published in 2025 on or about inter- and transdisciplinarity have inspired you the most? What readings would you recommend as particularly relevant, innovative and/or provocative and why? 
Each year, the Network for Transdisciplinary Research

(td-net) invites experts to share their recommended publications in research, education and practice. These contributions will be compiled and published as the "Tour d'Horizon 2025". 

Take part in the survey until 6 April 2026. More

The Swiss Global Change Day, organised by ProClim, is a unique event that provides insights in to the latest advances in climate research. It is also an opportunity to exchange ideas with colleagues from all over Switzerland and to present research through posters. Another highlight will be the Science Talk on the state of disinformation and political influence on research in Switzerland. Register now!