Policy Outreach & Synthesis

In 2022, through Policy Outreach & Synthesis the Wyss Academy worked to build bridges between diverse sectors, actors, and types of knowledge in academia and beyond. Our approach allows us to question conventional wisdom and address topics with a fresh perspective while respecting other concepts and discussions.

Joining forces to find solutions

The Wyss Academy understands that forging a new narrative which includes equity and justice as a fundamental part of knowledge creation, policymaking, and decision-making requires involving communities around the globe. Through Policy Outreach & Synthesis the Wyss Academy engages with a wide variety of actors in the co-creation of solutions.

New platforms for a wide range of stakeholders

The Wyss Academy's dialogues on topics like food systems or circular societies engaged stakeholders and contributed to the diffusion of ideas and knowledge. The Food Systems Dialogue in 2021 and the first Wyss Academy Symposium held in 2022 each provided a platform to bring together a diverse group of more than 200 experts from science, policy, and practice to engage, discuss, and learn how to develop pathways to just and sustainable futures for both nature and people in an increasingly connected and complex world.

Additionally, the Wyss Academy was actively engaged at "The Spirit of Bern 2022" to stimulate a broader dialogue among representatives from the private sector, politics, government, and science. At the event over 60 speakers addressed the most diverse facets of the increasingly acute sustainability challenges and called for action.

“We promote innovation by providing a safe space for unconventional questions and critical discussions.”

Strong bridges around the globe

Through Policy Outreach the Wyss Academy builds alliances that can be used to diffuse the solutions we successfully tested. This network will allow us to spread the word and is instrumental for scaling up. From the very start, the Wyss Academy has reached out to many different actors and attracted people by offering different formats of engagement, building a network of allies crucial to a successful sustainability transformation. The worldwide network has already grown enormously, and the first tangible outputs and impacts of our engagement efforts are becoming visible. For instance, the Wyss Academy has been asked to serve as a member of the executive committee of an international initiative working on a global roadmap for building an inclusive circular economy.

Identifying and closing knowledge gaps

The Synthesis Center enables the Wyss Academy to gain access to relevant knowledge from outside the organizational boundaries by synthesizing different perspectives from various stakeholders. At the Synthesis Center, we use our freedom to experiment with different approaches to synthesize knowledge and design new ways of bringing together different people to build on their experiences and foster mutual learning. We work with the assumption that the knowledge for systems transformation is already out there, and that we can bring together the right people to address or bring up relevant questions. To break the silos and link different disciplines, actors, and knowledge systems, the Synthesis Center builds on insights from research, practitioners, and indigenous or local knowledge. The aim is to close knowledge gaps and empower agents of change for systems transformation.