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Professor Gail Taylor Appointed Chair of the UK Sustainable Development Solutions Network

By University College London and SDSN United Kingdom

This announcement was first published on the University College London website.

SDSN UK coordinates over 40 member institutions around practical solutions that address the UN Sustainable Development Goals. SDSN UK’s vision is to enable a knowledge-based transition to a just and sustainable society by mobilising UK research, education, and policy engagement to find practical solutions to global challenges, aimed at achieving the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 

Prof. Taylor says “I am delighted to be the new chair of SDSN UK, hosted by UCL. This is a great opportunity to work together with other leading knowledge centres across the UK to develop and accelerate practical solutions to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. It is imperative that we identify transformative actions to address a planet in crisis and work together to implement these at local, national, and global scales by joining up research and innovation, education, and policy.”

Prof. Taylor is uniquely positioned to provide a vision for SDSN UK as it goes from strength to strength. She recently joined UCL as Dean of the Faculty of Life Sciences, having been Chair of Plant Sciences at University of California, Davis and before that Reader and Director of Research for the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Southampton. Prof. Taylor’s research covers Plant, Environment and Sustainability Science, focused on the societal challenges of Sustainable Food and Energy Production and Adaptation to the Changing Environment, particularly through research that crosses disciplinary boundaries. She is currently a Coordinating Lead Author of the UN Environment Programme’s GEO-7 state of the planet report that will be published in 2026.

SDSN UK is one of 50 National and Regional SDSN hubs, which together coordinate and mobilise member institutions around the world to develop practical solutions for sustainable development, in line with their unique local contexts and challenges. SDSN UK was established in 2022 and was previously chaired by Dr Kate Roll, who hosted the network within UCL’s Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP).

Mariana Mazzucato, Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value at UCL, and the Founding Director of the IIPP, remarks: "It was great to bring SDSN to the UK and host it at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP). We can only achieve the SDGs if governments put them at the heart of their economic policies. We are now looking forwards to seeing it continue to flourish at UCL under the leadership of Professor Taylor.”

In response to the announcement, María Cortés-Puch, Vice President Networks Program, SDSN, said: "Congratulations to Professor Gail Taylor from UCL on her appointment as the new Chair of SDSN UK. Under her leadership, we are confident that SDSN UK will continue to thrive and make significant strides in advancing sustainable solutions across the UK. I would also like to take a moment to acknowledge Simon Knowles, Head of Coordination for the SDGs at UCL, for his great guidance as Chair during 2024. His dedication and hard work have been invaluable to our team, and we deeply appreciate his contributions. Wishing the entire network great success in this new chapter and looking forward to seeing the positive impact that will undoubtedly follow."