Leaving No One Behind: Normative and Empirical Explorations in Knowledge Production for Societal Change

A central tenet of the UN Sustainable Development Goals is the principle of Leaving No One Behind. In general terms the pledge is a promise of inclusion - that none of the goals would be considered met unless it was met for everyone and that signatories would endeavor to reach the people and segments of society who are furthest behind first. However, beyond cursory and general descriptions, it remains unclear what Leaving No One Behind (LNOB) means in practice. This dissertation looks at the operationalization and utility of LNOB for knowledge production, by including two important loci: academic (Global Health) research, and applied research conducted by (or on behalf of) international non-governmental organizations, as part of their ‘Monitoring Evaluation and Learning’ (MEL) practices. Based on normative and empirical studies, this book explores what LNOB geared research focuses on and how it can be brought into practice. Ultimately, it advocates for the (re-)building of LNOB as a movement, with more explicit empirical and theoretical underpinnings and social imaginaries grounded in solidarity and social justice, reflecting our interdependence as a species and the planet.