Future Earth launches Global Coordination Hub with ASU as key partner

Global Futures Laboratory will serve as Future Earth’s North American coordinator

By Joe Rojas-Burke, ASU News
May 20, 2026

The international sustainability network Future Earth is launching a new Global Coordination Hub designed to strengthen global collaboration, align international research efforts and expand the impact of sustainability science in policy and decision-making.

The hub will be jointly hosted by the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory at Arizona State University and the Climate Service Center Germany at Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, known as GERICS. An executive director based at GERICS will lead the initiative.

The Global Futures Laboratory will serve as Future Earth’s North American coordinator, reinforcing ASU’s leadership in advancing transdisciplinary research and global sustainability partnerships. The new structure is intended to improve coordination across Future Earth’s international secretariat and its 25 global research networks spanning Africa, Asia, Europe and North America.

“The Global Coordination Hub positions Future Earth to work more strategically as a network and gives us the structure to better connect our community and deliver more impactful science,” said Wendy Broadgate, director of the Future Earth Swedish Global Hub, who will serve as interim executive director until the role is filled.

The hub is designed to strengthen strategic cohesion across Future Earth’s distributed operations while helping ensure scientific research is more effectively translated into action by governments, businesses and communities.

The partnership builds on more than a decade of collaboration between Arizona State University and GERICS. The hub will operate under a distributed model, with GERICS in Germany and ASU’s Global Futures Laboratory in the United States jointly anchoring its global operations and partnerships.

“The Global Futures Laboratory is uniquely designed to serve as a leader in shaping the direction our world is heading,” said Peter Schlosser, university vice president at ASU and director general of the Global Futures Laboratory. “This partnership will strengthen our collective efforts to envision and create a world where all will thrive on a healthy planet. We are encouraged by the possibilities ahead and eager to work together on our planet's urgent challenges.”

The Global Futures Laboratory brings extensive experience in building international research collaborations, advancing science communication and developing solutions-focused approaches to sustainability challenges. The laboratory works across disciplines to address issues including climate change, urban resilience, biodiversity and equitable global development.

“By hosting the Global Coordination Hub, we are creating a sustainable structure that enables Future Earth to operate more effectively as a global network,” said Daniela Jacob, director of GERICS. “This collaboration strengthens the links between science, politics, business and civil society.”

This story originally appeared on ASU News.