I develop a conceptual model of the temporal dynamics of knowledge brokerage for sustainable development. Brokerage refers to efforts to make research and policymaking more accessible to each other. The model enables unbiased and systematic consideration of knowledge brokerage as part of policy evolution. The model is theoretically grounded in earlier work on policy evolution, knowledge brokerage and the temporal characteristics of late-modern society. It outlines a dynamic process of cyclic destruction and emergence of brokerage. The case of brokerage for sustainable development in the European Commission illustrates the potential empirical application of the model.