Chair’s preface

WITH THE FIRST 12 YEARS of funding and development coming to an end in 2018, it has been a privilege to follow what can only be described as a smooth and impressive transition into a new and exciting phase of the centre. Amid several uncertainties, the new leadership has navigated the centre into a new dynamic space applying a true resilience spirit. With Line Gordon as director we have become an impressive team; brave and professional, complementing each other in a way that benefits the centre as a whole.

The new organisation also includes a new “semi-internal” board consisting of centre staff and representatives from Stockholm University and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. An International Scientific Advisory Council was established in 2019, made up of leading researchers in sustainability. This council complements our International Advisory Board on policy and business, which remains strong and engaged. There are good relations and support from Stockholm University’s leadership and the collaborations with the Beijer Institute as well as the Global Economic Dynamics and the Biosphere Programme of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences continue to flourish. What has been remarkable during 2019 is to witness the internal mobilisation and the collective spirit of “one for all, all for one”. That everybody is pulling in the same direction makes the centre unique. It has been instrumental for our complex yet successful transition in both leadership and funding. For instance, the grants and funding received during 2019 were a record high. This is particularly impressive considering that our core Mistra funding ended in 2018. What is striking is the explosion of new scientific insights coupled with a continuous increase in the number of articles, many of them appearing in top journals. The professionalism that characterises our transdisciplinary experiments, collaborations, training programmes and outreach work remains inspiring!

As the founder and scientific director of the SRC, it is deeply rewarding to experience all of this and to have the privilege to be part of a research centre with such an imprint and reputation internationally. The legacy of Buzz Holling, the father of resilience thinking, who passed away in 2019, has not only been carefully cultivated but amplified into new strands of research and applications that influence and inspire people worldwide.

Professor Carl Folke chair of the board and science director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre

Carl Folke Chair of the board

The support from our funders is a determining factor for our success. In addition to our support from Stockholm University we would like to express our gratitude to the following funders:

In addition to Futura Foundation, Natural Environment Research Council, Ellen MacArthur Foundation/H&M, Johansson Family Foundation, Zennström Philantropies, Arctic Research Foundation and others.