Partnerships for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) [Editorial]

In her dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood gives voice to the importance of both context and experience in making sense of thought and action: “Context is all; or is it ripeness? One or the other” [1] (p. 192). Similarly, social scientists have long recognised the value of identifying contextual data in the research process. From the reflexive sociologist Alvin Gouldner [2] to the celebrated anthropologist, systems theorist, and philosopher Gregory Bateson [3,4], we are reminded that the significance of words and deeds only emerges by relating them to their contexts. As argued by Gouldner: “the meaning and consequences of a behaviour pattern will vary with the contexts in which it occurs” [2] (p. 12). Or as more evocatively articulated by Bateson: “it is the context that fixes the meaning” [4] (p. 14). Various contemporary academics and practitioners have emphasised the importance of context in different fields: leadership research [5]; partnership evaluation [6]; resource conservation [7]; business–NGO partnerships [8]; health care quality [9]; HIV/AIDS implementation research [10]; entrepreneurial innovation [11]; corporate social responsibility [12]; and the development of sustainability goals and targets [13].