ABSTRACT About 35% of UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets are on track after a decade, pointing to a need for stronger, system‐wide responses. This paper explores how the National Systems of Innovation framework could offer a timely and analytical strong foundation for advancing the SDGs. It traces the evolution of innovation systems thinking and recent geopolitical shifts that have renewed interest in industrial policy and national coordination. The paper argues that achieving the SDGs requires moving beyond technological solutions toward institutional arrangements that align governance, direction, and collaboration with clearly defined social priorities. The contributions in this special issue, spanning health, migration, sustainability transitions and conceptual approaches to transforming innovation systems, collectively demonstrate the relevance of the innovation systems frameworks.
Freire-Gibb et al. (Mon,) studied this question.