This year's edition of the World Science Report examines the role played by science in resolving the major issues facing human society, such as food security, water resources and disease.

There are fewer grounds today than in the past to deplore a North‑South divide in research and innovation. This is one of the key findings of the UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030. A large number of countries are now incorporating science, technology and innovation in their national development agenda, in order to make their economies less reliant on raw materials and more rooted in knowledge. Most research and development (R&D) is taking place in high-income countries, but innovation of some kind is now occurring across the full spectrum of income levels according to the first survey of manufacturing companies in 65 countries conducted by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics and summarized in this report. For many lower-income countries, sustainable development has become an integral part of their national development plans for the next 10–20 years. Among higher-income countries, a firm commitment to sustainable development is often coupled with the desire to maintain competitiveness in global markets that are increasingly leaning towards ‘green’ technologies. The quest for clean energy and greater energy efficiency now figures among the research priorities of numerous countries. Written by more than 50 experts who are each covering the country or region from which they hail, the UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030 provides more country-level information than ever before. The trends and developments in science, technology and innovation policy and governance between 2009 and mid-2015 described here provide essential baseline information on the concerns and priorities of countries that could orient the implementation and drive the assessment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the years to come.

The world ocean is a life-supporting system for humanity, yet it remains largely unknown. Based on data collected from around the world, the Global Ocean Science Report 2020 offers a global record of how, where and by whom ocean science is conducted. It monitors our capacity to understand the ocean and seize new opportunities. More generally, the Report underlines the essential role of ocean research and international cooperation for all key issues of the 21st century.

This is the fourth in a series of UNESCO reports which periodically examine the emerging trends in scientific research and higher education around the world. Written by an independent team of experts, each chapter describes how research and development activities are organised in the following countries or regions: the United States, Latin America and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, the Caribbean Common Market (CARICOM) countries, the European Union, South-East Europe, the Russian Federation, the Arab States, Africa, Japan, East and South-East Asia, South Asia. Key themes highlighted include: the development of 'knowledge societies'; the drive for innovation and the role of the private sector; the importance of international co-operation in broadening the number of countries involved in scientific research; and the strengthening position of Asia on the international scene, driven largely by China's dynamism.

Analyses the current state of science around the globe as well the trends that have emerged since the previous report published in 2005.

Based on a series of regional meetings on university campuses with officials from the national security community and academic research institutions, this report identifies specific actions that should be taken to maintain a thriving scientific research environment in an era of heightened security concerns. Actions include maintaining the open exchange of scientific information, fostering a productive environment for international scholars in the U.S., reexamining federal definitions of sensitive but unclassified research, and reviewing policies on deemed export controls. The federal government should establish a standing entity, preferably a Science and Security Commission, that would review policies regarding the exchange of information and the participation of foreign-born scientists and students in research.