This chapter will review current approaches to identifying emerging issues in sustainable development using a typology and discussing pros and cons. It will then report on the results of an outreach to scientific communities across the world to prepare short briefs for the benefit of the HLPF on issues, research findings and solutions for the attention of decision-makers. It will also summarize outcomes of an informal meeting between scientists and policy makers designed to foster a dialogue on how scientific identification of emerging issues could better inform policy making. It will present selected briefs that have attracted the most interest via the online platform. It will also report on examples and suggestions made by young scientists on “big data” approaches for sustainable development.

Key questions to be addressed:

• Which methods are currently being used to identify emerging issues and what are their pros and cons?
• Which science issues and solutions that are not prominently being discussed at the UN level should be considered by decision-makers?