UNESCO Science Report 2021: Science and Innovation In Israel

The UNESCO Science Report was launched in 1993 under the name of World Science Report. Since then, UNESCO has published seven reports in the series. The series describes and reviews the evolution of the support system for science, technology and innovation worldwide over time. Key emerging trends are identified and placed within their socio-economic and political context. Each report begins with an overview of global trends. Dr. Daphne Getz and the team at the Samuel Neaman Institute authored the chapters on Israel in UNESCO's Science Report.

Studies: Agriculture

Samuel Neaman Institute's publications examine various aspects of the field of agriculture in Israel, including the social contributions of agriculture; the possibilities for developing sustainable agriculture in conditions of scarcity; sustainable aquaculture; development and adoption of innovation and information technology in agriculture; issues in the management interface between agriculture and water, and more.

Studies: Waste Management

Samuel Neaman Institute's studies examine the potential for reducing waste at source, reducing waste landfilling and developing processes that make the nuisance into a resource, both in the domestic sector and in the industry and agriculture sector. Practical policies and tools at the national and local government levels are suggested.

Studies: Climate Change – Mitigation

Climate change attracts worldwide attention because of the environmental, economic and social implications. Samuel Neaman Institute's studies in this field include means to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (mitigation) and their purpose is to describe and analyze emissions and provide a scientific basis for formulating national policies in various fields, including energy production, transportation, industry, construction, agriculture, water and more.

Studies: Innovation – Environmental Technologies

Samuel Neaman Institute's publications indicate the necessary steps for the State of Israel to utilize the potential inherent in this market - both for improving the quality of life and the environment in Israel and for the opportunity to export knowledge and technologies and create jobs in the field. The works reflect the main trends in the world, map the uniqueness and relative advantage of the Israeli economy and shed light on the barriers facing entrepreneurs, investors and industries in Israel. In addition, the policy papers detail basic principles for designing a supportive policy.

Studies: Sustainable Development

Samuel Neaman Institute's publications in the field discuss the challenges and opportunities arising from a situation of lack of resources – land, energy, water, food and raw materials in industry. The studies present analyses of the existing situation, along with the potential for efficiency improvements and innovation and the leverage of Israeli Environmental R&D, agriculture and industry.

Studies: Natural Gas and Oil

Samuel Neaman Institute's studies in this field address all aspects of the use of fossil fuels and also include a number of studies carried out for the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Energy to examine the environmental impacts of natural gas as a source of fuels for transportation.

Studies: Transportation

Samuel Neaman Institute's publications in the field examine, among others, the environmental impacts of the various means of transportation and the policy required to reduce them, the benefits and barriers to integrating oil substitutes in the transportation sector, including, electric transportation, waste-based and bio-ethanol fuel substitutes, and the economic benefits of transportation projects such as road tunneling and more.

Studies: Water, Rivers and Sea

Samuel Neaman Institute's studies examine various aspects of the field of water in Israel, including the implications of the transition of the Israeli water sector from natural sources to reclaimed and desalinated water, water and agriculture, river restoration and the relationship between water, the public and the nature.

"Wheels of Life" in Israel

The "Wheels of Life" project was launched in 2013, in order to compare Israel's performance with the performance of other countries in five main dimensions of Israel's society: economics, innovation, science and technology, society-governance- education, environment, and energy. The data source used for comparative analysis is the World Competitiveness Yearbook of the IMD School of Management, a leading business school in Lausanne, Switzerland, which presents data on a wide range of global competitiveness variables in 60 countries.

The Water Forum

The "Water Forum", established in 2009 by the Samuel Neaman Institute in cooperation with Israel Water Authority and the Grand Water Research Institute at the Technion, serves as a platform for discussing and analyzing key issues in order to contribute to the formulation of white papers on a variety of topics in the field of water related strategy and policy.

Studies: National Environmental Priorities

One of the functions of the Samuel Neaman Institute is to bridge the gap between academia, industry and decision-makers by making applicable, up-to-date information and research-based knowledge accessible to state institutions. The documents of national priorities compiled at the Shmuel Ne'eman Institute deal with a variety of issues that are important to raise on the public agenda.

Studies: Climate Change – Adaptation (Israeli Climate Change Information Center – ICCIC)

In accordance with a government decision, the Ministry of Environmental Protection was tasked with preparing a national plan for Israel's adaptation for climate change. To this end, the ministry has decided to establish an Israeli knowledge center on the subject, which will work to strengthen the existing scientific knowledge in everything related to preparing for climate change in Israel and will even work to market the accumulated Israeli knowledge in other target countries.