sustainability for the 21st century

Novel Futures Director, Darren Swanson, has supported and advised UN agencies for implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including for the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, the UN Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG), UNICEF, the UN Development Programme, and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. In these capacities, Darren co-authored/co-developed the UN's 2030 Agenda Mainstreaming Reference Guide, the SDG Acceleration Toolkit, and its online training course on Integrated Recovery Planning and Policy Coherence Towards the SDGs.

Novel Futures Director, Darren Swanson, provides training, consulting and facilitation services to governments for mainstreaming the 2030 Agenda and its sustainable development goals (SDGs) into strategies, plans and monitoring systems. In this capacity, Darren has facilitated the annual Sustainable Development Transformation Forum of the United Nations Office for Sustainable Development in 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2022, and 2023.

In 2023, Mr. Swanson provided technical and facilitation support to the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce for its Climate Action Toolkit and local Chamber workshop series. 

Over the years, Darren Swanson has directed measurement & assessment and sustainability & climate resilience efforts in NGO and business settings, including sustainability and integrated reporting, ESG impact assessment. As a former judge for the annual Corporate Reporting Awards of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada for almost 15 years, Darren has had a unique view to the evolution and maturation of sustainability assessment, strategy, reporting, and regulation in Canada.

Novel Futures has provided sustainable development strategy and reporting support to international NGOs and Development Banks. In 2017, Darren Swanson facilitated a regional training workshop on national development planning hosted by the Islamic Development Bank Group (IDBG).  And in 2017, he prepared an assessment report Exploring the Alignment of the IDB's 10-year Strategy and the SDGs. Darren also provided technical support for the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation's 2021 disaster risk reduction guidance, From Protection to Prevention.

Novel Futures Director, Darren Swanson, understands first hand how important multi-stakeholder engagement is in conceptualizing, measuring and navigating progress toward community wellbeing and sustainability. He is a former member of the project team for Winnipeg's award-winning community wellbeing indicator system, PEG. In 2023, Mr. Swanson provided technical support for the development of the United Nations' Enhanced Voluntary Local Review Guidance Portal and co-facilitated the pilot training workshop at the National Urban Forum in Tbilisi, Georgia.