Asia Science Mission for Sustainability
A new way to do science―for people, planet and future generations in Asia
What is the Asia Science Mission?
The Asia Science Mission (ASM) is Asia’s first mission-oriented, multi-country platform accelerating resilience and sustainability through science–policy–community partnerships. It is led by Future Earth Asia, supported by the International Science Council, and implemented with regional partners including the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHN), the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN), and the Australian National University (ANU).
ASM is officially endorsed by UNESCO as a Project of the International Decade of Sciences for Sustainable Development (IDSSD)—recognising its regional importance and contribution to mission-driven sustainability science.
ASM convenes scientists, governments, communities, Indigenous and local knowledge holders, and young leaders to co-design practical pathways for water, food, climate, biodiversity, health, and livelihood security—moving from research to real-world impact.
Phase 1 (2025–2027) focuses on a set of flagship demonstration initiatives that will prototype and test scalable mission pathways across Asia.
Connecting knowledge across fields and regions
Involving the people who are most affected
Making data and science useful for decisions
Grounding action in real-world sites across Asia
How ASM Generates Leverage Through Early-stage Catalytic Action
ASM identifies where targeted catalytic actions, such as institutional capacity building, data system integration, and community-led experimentation, can unlock multiple downstream impacts across socio-ecological and governance systems. By embedding learning-ready practices and shaping shared mission priorities, ASM creates the conditions to test, learn, adapt, and ultimately scale innovations into investible pathways.
ASM identifies where targeted early-stage actions, such as institutional capacity building, data system integration, and community-led experimentation, can unlock multiple long-term benefits.
By embedding learning-ready practices and shaping shared mission priorities, ASM creates the conditions to test, learn, and scale innovations into investible pathways.
A Solution-Discovery Ecosystem for Pre-Investment Learning
ASM fills the pre-investment gap by supporting solution discovery, prototype testing, socio-ecological risk mapping, stakeholder alignment, and the development of investable narratives. By creating intelligent risk-taking environments in which innovations can mature toward investability, ASM becomes a catalytic enabler of future capital deployment.
ASM fills the “missing middle” between research and investment by supporting:
- prototype testing
- socio-ecological and health risk mapping
- stakeholder alignment
- the development of investable narratives
This creates an intelligent risk-taking environment where innovations can mature, evidence can accumulate, and promising ideas become suitable for catalytic and blended finance.
Flipping the Science Model Through Mission Alignment
ASM’s core contribution is a co-created innovation-pathways ecosystem where stakeholders collectively surface validated insights, uncover least-resistance routes, and reduce the specific uncertainties that hold back promising innovations from scaling.
Traditional science models assume research comes first and real-world application follows later, often years later. ASM flips this model by aligning science, community priorities, and policy needs from the very beginning.
Through co-created mission pathways, stakeholders collectively:
- surface validated insights from the ground
- identify the least-resistance routes to impact
- reduce the uncertainties that prevent promising innovations from scaling
This transforms science from a linear sequence into a shared, adaptive problem-solving system, accelerating the journey from idea to impact.
Structured Innovation That Learns Through Uncertainty
Rather than optimising for certainty, ASM enables structured innovation. Early failures become informative, rapid iteration is encouraged, and prototypes can evolve into investible pathways. This approach multiplies the impact of every dollar invested.
Instead of optimising for certainty, ASM enables a structured process where:
- early failures provide valuable insight
- rapid iteration improves design
- prototypes evolve into scalable models
This multiplies the impact of every catalytic dollar and accelerates pathways that traditional programmes would hesitate to fund.
Focus on Underinvested Domains
ASM focuses on areas where markets systematically underinvest in resilience to climate extremes, long-term ecosystem restoration, adaptation, and local innovation systems, and cross-border risk and water security. These domains require catalytic capital because commercial incentives alone cannot trigger early-stage learning or innovation.
ASM prioritises areas where markets systematically underinvest despite high social and ecological value:
- resilience to climate extremes
- long-term ecosystem restoration
- local innovation systems
- cross-border water and risk security
- vulnerable community adaptation pathways
These domains require catalytic capital because commercial incentives alone cannot trigger early-stage learning or unlock transformative solutions.
Our Vision
To build a sustainable, resilient, and just Asia where knowledge systems are integrated, communities are empowered, and science informs transformative action at all levels.
Our Mission
To co-design and deliver transdisciplinary science that supports real-world solutions, inform policy, and systems-level learning through collaboration, local engagement, and innovation across Asia’s socio-ecological systems.
Why Asia? Why Now?
Asia is home to:
- 59% of the world’s population
- 54% of global economic activity
- 9 of the world’s 25 biodiversity hotspots
Yet Asia also faces some of the world’s most severe and interconnected sustainability and health risks—from accelerating climate impacts, water scarcity, and deforestation to air pollution, heat stress, vector-borne diseases, food insecurity, and rising inequality. These pressures are compounding and disproportionately affect vulnerable communities.
Environmental and climatic changes are increasingly translating into health crises—through heat stress, poor air quality, unsafe water, malnutrition, and disease outbreaks—making integrated science essential.
Despite decades of research and investment, progress remains fragmented and too slow.
Asia needs mission-oriented, cross-sector solutions that align science, policy, health systems, and community action—moving beyond isolated projects to coordinated pathways that deliver real-world impact on goals such as:
What’s the Problem?
What’s the Problem?
Too often, efforts to address Asia’s sustainability and health challenges are fragmented and disconnected:
- Data, evidence, and local knowledge are scattered across institutions
- Sectors operate in silos—environment, health, agriculture, water, climate, disaster risk, each planning separately
- Indigenous and local knowledge is undervalued and underused
- Scientific insights fail to reach the communities and decision-makers who need them most
- Solutions remain project-based and short-term, unable to address systemic risks
The result? Missed opportunities, duplicated efforts, rising health and environmental risks, and systems that cannot adapt to rapid and complex change.
What Makes the Asia Science Mission Different?
What Makes the Asia Science Mission Different?
Most sustainability and health efforts in Asia remain fragmented, duplicative, or disconnected from the lived realities of communities. The Asia Science Mission breaks from this pattern.
ASM uses a mission-oriented, systems-based approach that connects scientists, governments, communities, and knowledge holders to work toward shared, measurable goals.
Instead of isolated projects, ASM builds mission pathways that align data, expertise, policy, investment, and local action.
At its core is a regional learning and coordination system—a flexible network that links diverse actors, knowledge systems, and data across Asia. This enables countries and communities to co-design solutions, test them in real-world settings, and learn from each other as they respond to interconnected challenges in water, food, climate, ecosystems, and health.
How the Mission stand apart?
1. Systems Intelligence, Not Silos
Connects knowledge from scientists, Indigenous leaders, community networks, health actors, and policymakers into a shared, adaptive learning system.
This improves collective sensing of risks, aligns beliefs and priorities, and enables coordinated action across scales.
2. Co-designed, Context-Driven
Solutions are co-created with local actors—rather than delivered through top-down programmes.
We embrace Asia’s cultural diversity, ecological variability, and deep traditions of place-based knowledge, ensuring solutions are legitimate, inclusive, and rooted in community realities.
3. From Research to Real-World Impact
Each demonstration initiative acts as a living lab—combining field testing, digital modelling, health and environmental risk assessment, stakeholder engagement, and policy dialogue.
Insights are scaled through regional peer learning, shared tools, and policy feedback loops.
4. A Regional Learning Network
Unlike fragmented initiatives, ASM connects sites, institutions, and sectors into a regional mission network that:
- Reduces duplication and competition across efforts
- Aligns investments and local actions with common mission goals
- Strengthens system-wide learning and adaptation across water, food, climate, ecosystems, and health
5. A Transdisciplinary Space for Innovation
The Mission integrates natural sciences, social sciences, health sciences, technology, and traditional knowledge.
It supports bold experimentation with a focus on equity, participation, and actionable learning that benefits both people and nature.
What will the Mission do?
Over the coming years, the Mission will:
- Develop and run demonstration initiatives to test, refine, and scale solutions for water, food, climate, ecosystem, health, and livelihood resilience
- Co-design mission pathways with local and regional partners, ensuring solutions are context-driven and community-owned
- Build capacity among youth, scientists, practitioners, and decision-makers to strengthen systems thinking, innovation, and action
- Create a regional learning and knowledge platform for shared data, tools, modelling, and policy engagement
- Support countries to align policies and investments with mission goals through evidence, dialogue, and feedback loops
- Reframe sustainability and resilience indicators to better reflect Asian socio-ecological and health realities
How can you be involved?
Whether you are:
- A scientist or research team
- A policymaker or community leader
- A youth activist or Indigenous organisation
- A donor, NGO, philanthropic foundation, or international agency
- A health, climate, water, food, or ecosystem practitioner
You can take part by:
- Hosting or joining a demonstration initiative
- Co-designing mission pathways with local and regional partners
- Contributing knowledge, data, tools, or modelling capacity
- Supporting capacity building, youth leadership, and training
- Engaging in policy dialogues to align national and regional actions with mission goals
Asia Science Mission is more than a project, it’s a movement.
A mission to do science differently, together, and for impact.
Let’s build a resilient, fair, and sustainable Asia, from the ground up.
