Between 1965 and 1991, UNESCO tended to focus on science policy and the organization of scientific
research in developed countries, such as France, Germany, Japan, the USA and the Republic of Korea.
In the early 1990s, science policy studies were phased out as a separate entity within UNESCO.
As a result, requests from Member States for support in areas of science and technology policy were
responded to in a less focused way.
During the period 1988-1993, UNESCO’s Science & Technology Policy Programme (STP) evolved into a
Programme on Science Technology and Society (STS). This programme had three main components:
- Promotion of scientific and technological culture in the society, which included: the organization
of the first World Conference on Science Journalists and the international seminars on planning science museums.
- 2. Assistance in the management of science and technology policies and training of personnel, with emphasis
on the provision of policy advice and establishment of regional networks for training and research in this field
- Science ethics
The UNESCO General Conference, which brings together all 193 of UNESCO’s Member States every two years
to approve the programme and budget for the coming biennium, decided at its 27th session in 1993 to
terminate this STS programme. The main reason cited was the need to concentrate UNESCO's resources
on a smaller number of priority areas.
The same General Conference, however, adopted a resolution inviting the Director-General to
"...to promote the reflection on the place, in UNESCO's programme as a whole, of the questions
relating to science, technology and society"
The Director-General, Federico Mayor, nominated a group of experts to advise him on the issue. This
group submitted its conclusions in July 1994. It recommended to the Director-General that ‘…steps be taken
as soon as possible to launch a programme on science and society, including the allocation of resources
and the establishment of an appropriate supporting structure, so that its can be fully operational in
the next medium-term plan for 1996 to 2001’.
Ultimately, it was in 2002 that the Division of Science Analysis and Policies came into being,
thereby heralding the re-entry of UNESCO to the international science policy community. In recent years,
UNESCO has collaborated with sister agencies and other partners on assessments of the science policy systems
in Albania, Bahrain, Lebanon, Nigeria, Peru, Morocco and the Palestinian Territories, among others.
In 2005, the division became the Division for Science Policy and Sustainable Development. The
Division advises governments in the formulation and implementation of science, technology and innovation
policies that integrate sustainable development.
The programme for the
Ethics of Science & Technology was entrusted to UNESCO’s Sector for Social and Human Sciences by
the incoming Director-General, Koïchiro Matsuura, in 2000.
Science Policy
