Green Gown Awards 2017 - University College Dublin - Finalist

Completed by Jessica Klaver in the final stage of the MA International Development, this research project focuses on the availability of environmental data for the UN Sustainable Development Agenda of 2030 for Ireland.

Jessica designed a transferable framework that can be used by all countries for the presentation of data availability and more importantly, the identification of crucial data gaps. These gaps demonstrate the necessity of an integrated approach that avoids thinking in silos, which will allow us to achieve all Sustainable Development Goals.

The main question Jessica raises: if a developed country like Ireland struggles to provide the necessary data, what can be expected from a less developed country with fewer financial resources? The major data gaps identified for Ireland have led to a discussion she believes should be continued if we want all countries, developed and developing, to achieve all goals of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.

Top 3 learnings:

1 Sustainable development can only be achieved when we recognise the interdependence between the different pillars of sustainability; social, economic and environmental.

2 Share your research ideas with professors, students, governmental bodies etc. to draw them into the conversation (and to keep it going!)

3 Address data gaps and communicate them to your audience. This opens up the discussion about improvements and possible solutions.