Download the GYA Strategic Plan 2024-2027 here.
The GYA and its members recognise that solving today’s and future global challenges requires collaborative efforts that surpass geographical and disciplinary boundaries.
Such collaborations call for reshaping dialogues and bridging socio-cultural gaps. To this end, GYA members advocate for scientists to assume impactful roles in society, with a view to becoming the science (and societal) leaders of tomorrow.
To learn more about the Strategic Plan 2024-2027, watch the launch video featuring 2023/2024 Co-Chairs Priscilla Kolibea Mante and
Felix Moronta:
Vision
With Science for all, Science for the future, the GYA aims to ensure that science systems are inclusive and supportive in all disciplines and world regions. The Global Young Academy was founded with a vision that has evolved over time. This vision also seeks to ensure that science and research contribute to more equitable and sustainable societies.
The GYA uses the term “science” to refer to any inquiry-based, knowledge-generating research, including natural, physical, and social sciences, as well as engineering, medicine, the arts, and humanities. This broad definition underscores the importance of interdisciplinary and inclusive approaches to the generation of knowledge. This interdisciplinarity and inclusiveness, when combine with regional and global collaborations, serves as the foundation for a better future, where knowledge is shared and used to improve the lives of people worldwide.
Mission
The GYA empowers early-career scientists and scholars to take responsibility in generating new ideas and actions for a sustainable future. The need for global solutions to pressing global challenges is increasingly recognized. However, real barriers to international research collaboration still exist.
Global problems, such as health epidemics, biodiversity loss, data privacy, and displacement of nine percent of the global population, exacerbated by wars and climate change, underscore the urgent need for cross-disciplinary, cross-border cooperation to find and implement solutions. With its mission, the GYA empowers early-career scientists and scholars to take responsibility in generating new ideas and actions for a sustainable future.
The GYA believes that early- and mid-career scientists, researchers, and scholars, as the next generation of science leaders, are well equipped to foster more collaborative research and solutions, in pursuit of a less divided world. The Academy empowers these researchers and scholars by providing them with a platform to generate new ideas and actions, promote cross-disciplinary collaborations and contribute to global policy dialogue with an inclusive voice. By giving a voice to scientists and scholars around the world, manifested in the strategic targets and activities outlined here, the GYA can achieve the vision of Science for all, Science for the future.
Guiding Principles
The member-driven work of the GYA to realise its vision and mission are guided by the following core GYA values. These values build the foundation of all actions by the GYA and its members, in working towards the strategic targets outlined in this document.
Excellence
GYA members are selected based on their proven record of outstanding contributions to science and research, coupled with their strong commitment to public service. The GYA strives for the highest quality in its activities: excellence is an imperative.
Responsibility
Committed to addressing global challenges by seeking cooperative solutions, GYA members hold themselves and others accountable to act with integrity and to conduct research and activities that are responsible, transparent, and impactful. GYA members recognize the need to consider the long-term social, ethical, and moral implications of science, including the dilemmas created by the complex interactions between science and society.
Dialogue
The GYA acts as a bridge between science and society in an environment that fosters reflective dialogue. As a unique microcosm of the world, the GYA models and develops methods for open engagement on challenging global issues. GYA members engage in reflective dialogues, raise concerns, ask reflective questions, learns to appreciate other’s angles and values, and listen to different perspectives with the aim of bringing together science, society, and policy.
Independence
The GYA fosters early-career independence for researchers and scholars by operating independently from governments, other academies, funding sources, and businesses. As a non-profit organisation, the GYA firmly supports scientific freedom, including the independence of scientific institutions, recognition of the importance of basic research, and the freedom of thought. The GYA recognises these aspects as crucial in laying the foundation for our capacity to understand and innovate.
Evidence-informed
The GYA emphasises the importance of considering available knowledge when forming solutions to societal problems. GYA members expect that any solution is informed by evidence, and they work towards developing and contributing innovative, evidence-informed ideas to the debates of concern to both scientists and the wider community. At the same time, it fosters evidence-informed outputs beyond narrow metrics and pursues more qualitative and encompassing forms of societal impact and research communication.
Sustainability
The GYA promotes sustainability as a fundamental principle underlying its actions. As such, sustainability, understood as taking responsibility for the rights of future generations, is a guiding principle of the GYA’s work. In this regard, the GYA supports dialogue, research, reporting and policymaking relevant to the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. As an organisation, the GYA is committed to integrating sustainability in its internal processes.
Inclusivity and diversity
The GYA prioritises inclusivity and diversity by placing high value on diverse perspectives and ensuring respectful inclusion of individuals from various backgrounds, as well as active and engaged community-building. The GYA actively works towards attracting potential members from unrepresented disciplines, countries, and industries. The Academy supports the respectful and inclusive approach of traditional or indigenous knowledge across all world regions, in accordance with its guiding principles.
Impact
GYA members are driven by a collective passion for the role of science in creating a better world. By giving early- and mid-career researchers and scholars a platform to share their ideas and perspectives, the GYA supports both their career development, and their ability to address global challenges collaboratively. Moreover, the GYA is committed to facilitating the formation and connection of National Young Academies and similar organizations that empower young researchers to contribute to national, regional, and global change.
Openness
The GYA fosters open discussion and transparency in all its processes and decisions. The GYA strives to promote a culture of openness in science by advocating for fair access, open collaboration, and engagement with society. Through these efforts, the GYA seeks to increase public trust in science, promote scientific literacy, and encourage the responsible use of science to address global challenges.
Strategic Targets
The GYA has identified strategic targets within 5 domains, to achieve its vision and mission for the years 2023-2027. Within these domains, the GYA aims to enable its members and alumni, as well as National Young Academies members and other young scientists, to make more significant contributions to society. By focusing on these 44 strategic targets, the GYA can advance its vision of promoting Science for all, Science for the future.
A) Empowering early-career researchers worldwide by providing opportunities and visibility
Recognizing the critical role that early-career researchers play in driving scientific progress and innovation, the GYA selects and empowers excellent young researchers who are committed to service.By providing opportunities for collaboration, learning, and innovation, the GYA aims to drive positive change in their respective fields and beyond.
- Convening its members and alumni at conferences and Annual General Meetings.
- Organising capacity-building workshops for members and early-career researchers.
- Operating a canvassing committee, as part of the Nominations & Opportunities committee, to proactively match our members and alumni with existing prizes, awards, and other forms of recognition.
- Nominating members and alumni for membership in high-level committees and stakeholder groups.
- Strengthening the voice of young scientists by providing a platform at regional and global conferences.
- Circulating an opportunities newsletter for the young scientist community.
- Providing crucial leadership experience to its members.
- Supporting non-conventional connections between early-career scientists and scholars, students, and society.
- Building new and strengthening existing partnerships with other young researcher organizations.
- Participating in communication strategies towards increasing the visibility of GYA members and alumni and their activities.
- Leading a Wikipedia project to improve the online visibility of young scientists.
- Organising Science Leadership Programme workshops, and similar trainings, e.g., Inclusive Leadership workshops.
B) Contributing to solve societal challenges and build a sustainable future
Activities under this target contribute to our vision of Science for all, Science for the future as the GYA empowers young scientists to actively contribute towards finding solutions to the pressing challenges we currently face, with a focus on fostering a sustainable future.
The GYA’s involvement spans various domains encompassed by the Sustainable Development Goals. This engagement is facilitated through the establishment of working groups that deal with pertinent areas, active participation in meetings dedicated to the implementation and monitoring of the SDGs, as well as the provision of policy recommendations grounded in scientific knowledge to policymakers and global science organizations. Moreover, these activities embody the GYA vision by embracing an outward-looking perspective: the GYA aspires to enhance public engagement with science, ensuring that scientific advancements are accessible and beneficial to all individuals.
- Organising Working Groups and projects that address regional and global societal challenges.
- Working closely with our official partner organizations IAP, ISC, ALLEA, and the JRC, as well as other strategic partners.
- Giving young scientists the opportunity to participate as experts in science advice mechanisms.
- Blue sky projects with focus on climate change, science diplomacy, science advice, biodiversity, DIY biology, assessing discrimination, human rights, the interplay between science and the arts, global health, and science outreach.
C) Improving the science system
Current science systems are being challenged both internally and by societal demands on science. To name a few systematic challenges, there are still inequalities in the representation of gender and younger scientists, high costs and inefficiency put pressure on publication models, and assessment systems are perceived as unrealistic and unfair; the challenge of solving complex global problems also necessitates the breaking down of scientific silos.
Activities framed in this target contribute to our vision of Science for all, Science for the Future by making science more inclusive, equitable, open, and accessible, as well as by contributing to a new and more sustainable science system for the future.
- Sharing best practices of scientific excellence amongst members.
- Connecting young at-risk scholars with successful young researchers who act as mentors.
- Reflecting and focusing on developing the fairest processes and methods for dialogue in a context of mutual respect.
- Providing a safe context for experimentation, curiosity, and serendipity to drive new activities.
- The Global State of Young Scientists (GloSYS) project.
- Open Science activities.
- Blue sky projects: these are expressed through the initiatives by our working groups, that address issues as diverse as women in science or trust in science.
D) Supporting Young Scientist Initiatives
One of the primary strategic aims of the GYA is to serve as a facilitator for the expanding global network of young academies, actively supporting their establishment.
One of the primary strategic aims of the GYA is to serve as a facilitator for the expanding global network of young academies, actively supporting their establishment. This section focuses on strategic targets dedicated to empowering and uniting the voices of organised young scientists on a global scale.
- Facilitating the Worldwide Meeting of Young Academies and sessions in relevant global conferences.
- Writing joint statements with NYAs.
- Organising Global Working Groups together with NYA members.
- Facilitating regional networks of young academies.
E) Enabling Actions
The GYA defines three supporting actions, which aim to strengthen the infrastructure and processes, and which support members to reach strategic targets.
Strengthen Communications: Enhance visibility and credibility, enable effective outreach to stakeholders and partners, and promote the organisation’s mission and impact by:
- Strengthening GYA’s external profile, online and through communications.
- Continuing to professionalize outputs, including newsletter/ Quarterly Bulletin/ Press releases and other external communications.
- Establishing and working with a contact database to manage growing contacts.
- Ensuring that the GYA compiles with European data protection regulations.
- Developing and executing a professional public relations (PR) strategy to communicate GYA activities, publications, and engagements.
- Fostering high-quality member contributions to GYA communications (e.g., blog posts, video, articles in Connections).
Diversify Funding: Provide financial stability, and enable the GYA to pursue a wider range of activities and initiatives aligned with its mission and strategic plan by:
- Developing new and established partnerships with funders and fundraisers, explore shared interests and develop ties of trust and collaboration.
- Attracting long-term external funding, unrestricted base funding as well as project funding, not covered by core funding.
- Securing sustainable funding for the GYA’s annual International Conference of Young Scientists and Annual General Meeting.
- Securing long-term, sustainable funding for National Young Academy meetings (regional and worldwide).
- Back up alumni of the GYA in establishing a non-governmental entity in the U.S.A. to facilitate the acceptance of donations for the aims of the GYA.
Strengthen internal governance and management of the GYA: Ensure efficient and effective operations, improve decision-making processes, and enhance transparency and accountability by:
- Continuing to develop and implement long-term alumni relations structures to diversify communication with the growing body of GYA alumni.
- Evaluating and improving both internal committee processes and working group structures in the context of expanded GYA work.
- Strengthening cooperation with the GYA Advisory Board, to effectively harness their knowledge and experience towards advance the GYA’s goals.
- Supporting institutional efforts to address sustainability and open access within the organization; evaluate ways in which the GYA can improve its practices and implement these when possible (flight compensation, virtual meetings, etc.).
- Streamlining governance and administration procedures and documentation, to maintain institutional memory, without overly bureaucratizing the organisation.