The initiative came in the wake of the active role Norway played in the World Commission on Environment and Development, Our Common Future, 1987, where the Brundtland Report was launched.
The legacy of the Brundtland Report is deeply rooted in SUM's mandate for interdisciplinary research and education on global development and environmental issues.
The new centre will be established as a unit under the university board with the goal of strengthening and facilitating interdisciplinary research, education, and dissemination on sustainability.
[2] SUM's vision is to promote groundbreaking, independent, and critical interdisciplinary research on sustainability, focusing on global and local challenges and crises related to health, welfare, nature, and society.
[3] The research at SUM seeks to be power-critical and globally oriented, challenge established views, and draw on interdisciplinary perspectives and approaches.
As a follow-up to the commission's work, SUM established ‘The Collective for the Political Determinants of Health,' an international and interdisciplinary group of researchers and practitioners.
In 2016, Professor at SUM Dan Banik established the Oslo SDG Initiative, a network and meeting point for education, research, and dissemination on the UN's 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Through the initiative, regular dialogue forums and seminars are organized to communicate research results and create shared platforms for governments, civil society, business, and academia to discuss issues related to the 2030 Agenda.
The purpose of INCLUDE is to produce knowledge about how a socially just low-emission society can be realized through inclusive processes and close collaboration between research and the public, private, and voluntary sectors.
The goal of SUM's Research School is to create a forum for PhD candidates that transcends disciplinary boundaries, challenges dominant values and perspectives, and fosters close collaboration with other departments at UiO and abroad.
Mariel Aguilar-Støen, professor and social geographer at SUM, has a public voice on issues related to meat production, the emergence of infectious diseases and pandemic viruses, Latin America in general, and Guatemala in particular.
Among other things, Dan Banik has his own podcast, "In Pursuit of Development," where he invites researchers, politicians, and activists to discuss and converse on current topics.
She frequently appears as a guest and expert commentator on television and radio, speaking about current issues in Latin American politics, economics, and development, with a particular focus on Venezuela.
[18] Professor and cultural historian Karen Victoria Lykke is an active contributor to public debates about meat, agriculture, and Norwegian food production.