Geneva Science-Policy Interface
Acronym: GSPI
Established: 2018
Address: Uni Mail, Bd du Pont-d’Arve 28, 1205 Geneva 4, Switzerland
Website: https://gspi.ch/
Stakeholder group: Initiatives and processes
The Geneva Science-Policy Interface (GSPI) is an independent platform based at the University of Geneva, dedicated to fostering engagement between the research community and policy professionals from Geneva-based international organisations. Its mission is to promote science-informed solutions to complex global challenges addressed in multilateral spaces.
The GSPI seeks to increase the capacity of Geneva-based international institutions to tackle complex, multidimensional policy issues through increased access to scientific expertise. It also works to advance the professionalisation and recognition of the science-policy field of practice in Geneva and beyond.
Its activities focus on brokering collaborations, creating learning opportunities and generating new insights into science-policy practices.
Key programmes include the Impact Collaboration Programme (ICP), an annual call providing new opportunities for science-policy initiatives through small grants, network mobilisation, and expert guidance.
The GSPI also develops resources and training programmes for scientists, Geneva-based policy professionals, and knowledge brokers seeking to engage more effectively in science-informed policymaking.
Hosted at the University of Geneva, the GSPI is also supported by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) and backed by a network of leading research institutions in Switzerland and Europe.
Digital activities
As a bridge between science, policy, and implementation actors, the GSPI addresses a wide range of digital challenges. With data at the core of evidence-based policymaking, many of its activities explore digitalisation and the use of digital tools across key domains such as health, migration, development, and the environment.
Digital policy issues
Artificial intelligence
The MapMaker project, a collaboration between the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETH Zurich), has enabled the development of an online visualisation tool to inform data-driven decision-making on marine biodiversity conservation at the international level.
Digital standards
Together with the Geneva Health Forum (GHF), the GSPI has established a working group including key humanitarian actors to harness knowledge and best practices around the digitisation of clinical guidelines for the management of childhood illness in primary care in low and middle-income countries. In line with the efforts of WHO, and the principles of donor alignment for digital health, the working group has developed recommendations on how digitalisation can improve the management of childhood illness. In September 2021, the results of this work were shared with experts and the public, providing a platform for discussions on the lessons learned and future trends in the field.
Emerging technologies
In 2018, the GSPI organised policy discussions on the use of drones as part of humanitarian action. The conversation centred on the practical use of drones to deliver humanitarian aid and what can be done by stakeholders such as policymakers, the private sector, and NGOs to maximise the opportunities and reduce the risks of such technologies.
At the 2019 Digital Day, together with the University of Geneva, the GSPI organised a discussion exploring what experience and know-how Geneva-based organisations could share to empower and protect users in the context of the digital revolution.
With a number of other partners, the GSPI co-organised a discussion at the 2019 WSIS Forum on aerial data produced by drones and satellites in the context of aid and development. The session explored the interplay between international organisations, NGOs, and scientists and how they can work together to help monitor refugee settlements, provide emergency response in case of natural disasters, and scale agriculture programmes.
Data governance
The REDEHOPE project of the University of Geneva and the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) has led to the development of an online diagnostic tool to help countries identify and visualise issues in their housing data ecology, and access appropriate datasets to formulate more robust, evidence-based housing policies at the country level.
Sustainable development
In 2020–2021, the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Convention (BRS) secretariat benefited from the support of ETH Zurich to develop an online platform to identify and signal the need for evidence and information to the scientific community in the field of chemical and waste management.
Another project addressed the hurdles facing policy actors in accessing and making sense of data in migration research. The project partners (the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Graduate Institute) developed an interactive digital toolkit for policy officials to support them in leveraging migration research for evidence-based policymaking. The toolkit, based on IOM’s flagship publication, the World Migration Report, was launched in June 2022.
ICP 2021 brought support to the development of interactive analytical tools providing information about all UN sanctions to inform both humanitarian practitioners and sanction policy actors on practical ways to safeguard principled humanitarian action in areas under a sanction regime. This project is a collaboration between the Graduate Institute and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).
In 2022, the collaboration between ETH Zurich and IOM sought to bring more effective policy expertise in migration management to address migrants’ needs and increase social cohesion between migrant and local communities. The collaboration developed a toolbox to be used by IOM and its partners to facilitate the use of the Immigration Policy Lab (IPL) Integration Index, a survey tool for governments, nonprofits, and researchers to measure the integration of immigrants around the world.
In 2024-2025, the GSPI is supporting a new project titled ‘Shaping environmental policy in the pan-European region applying foresight methodologies’, which aims to increase the anticipatory capacity of UNECE and its member states to build coherence among future policies and help set priorities for the environmental policies in the pan-European region.
Human rights principles
The GSPI has supported the collaboration between the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights and OHCHR’s B-Tech project. Some of the new fast-evolving technologies, such as cloud computing, AI, facial recognition technologies, and the internet of things (IoT), can have profoundly disruptive effects on sociopolitical systems and pose significant human rights challenges. This initiative provided authoritative guidance and resources for implementing the UNGPs in the technology space and placing international human rights law (IHRL) at the centre of regulatory and policy frameworks. Aimed at policymakers, the technology sector, and all those working on AI regulation, the policy research carried out in this project (see the resulting Working Paper, 2021) brought fresh insights into how current initiatives on the regulation of AI technologies could incorporate the protection and respect for human rights. The paper also called on states to adopt a ‘smart mix’ of mandatory and voluntary measures to support their implementation, and how this applies to the AI sector.
Social media channels
LinkedIn @genevaspi
Twitter @GenevaSPI