Effective healthcare institutions need effective leaders.The issue of developing leadership qualities among health professionals, however, is often neglected, with many young professions having to learn their leadership skills almost by trial and error as they are handed positions of responsibility. Although incorporating leadership training programmes into the medical curriculum is lately gaining in importance, in practice too few countries are actually providing such training (See, for example: Health Professionals for a new century: transforming education to strengthen health systems in an interdependent world).

IAP for Research, in partnership with the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), and with support from Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY), is undertaking a three year project that will be framed around the global science community’s contribution to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. The advent of the SDGs provides an important opportunity to examine the landscape of global scientific advice and identify approaches that have been successful as well as gaps and opportunities for improvement.

The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, and the InterAcademy Partnership are undertaking a project on ‘Food and Nutrition Security and Agriculture'. Supported by IAP for Science, the project is almost exclusively funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) as the project on ‘Strengthening the Global Network of Science Academies (IAP) - Global and regional statements on food and nutrition security and agriculture’. IAP is also providing financial support, while some IAP member academies and the affiliated regional networks are providing in-kind support. At a time of increasing pressures from population growth, climate change, social and economic inequity and instability, the continuing need to avoid further loss in ecosystem biodiversity, and pressures on other critical resources (such as water and energy), there are major challenges in delivering food and nutrition security.