Accountability for the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda

The 2030 Agenda with its 17 SDGs is the overarching agreement of UN Member States for sustainable development and represents its legitimate guiding framework, globally and nationally, for the next 14 years. The SDGs are complemented by 169 targets and about 230 indicators. The High-level Political Forum (HLPF) is the central platform for follow-up and review at the global level and will provide necessary political guidance. The HLPF will include yearly Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) and thematic reviews of a set of SDGs every year. The HLPF cycle culminates in a high-level meeting under the auspices of the UN General Assembly every 4 years, next in 2019, while in the other years the HLPF meets under ECOSOC.

The overall goal for the whole intervention (until 2030) as set in the entry proposal is to contribute to a credible global accountability for the 2030 Agenda with an evidence-based and multi-stakeholder process for follow-up and review.

The three goals of three components of this credit proposal are:

1. Stakeholders possess the necessary knowledge about progress, policies and best practices which empower them to meaningfully participate in follow-up and review processes, globally and on country level.
2. The 2030 Agenda is translated into action by national governments and other stakeholders as a result of better prepared institutions and strengthened skills of key change agents.
3. The Global Report on Sustainable Development (GSDR) 2019 is recognised as the flagship report, with high-quality content, published on time, with an important and highly visible contribution by Switzerland.

2030 Agenda stakeholders: Governments, UN organizations, civil society organizations, the private sector, the independent group of scientists drafting the GSDR, academia in general.

Main Outcomes Goal 1:

• Stakeholders are regularly informed about the 2030 Agenda decision-making process and whether governments are keeping their commitments.
• Innovative approaches that draw on the expertise of actors present in Geneva are developed and tested at country level.

Main Outcomes Goal 2:

Through customized trainings, partner countries (in particular in Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States) have access to learning support on the mainstreaming of the SDGs into national strategies; policy makers and relevant stakeholders are trained to design, implement and review holistic policies as required by the interconnected character of the 2030 Agenda.

Main Outcomes Goal 3:

Significant and high-quality scientific inputs provided by the Swiss member of the independent group of scientists results in a) the GSDR being recognised as the flagship report on taking stock at the global level on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and b) visibility of Switzerland ensured throughout the process.

Principaux résultats attendus:  

Component 1: Broad range of necessary knowledge for stakeholders made accessible globally; news posts, articles, policy briefs published; models tested at country level.

Component 2: Online training packages available globally; up to 18 regional training workshops organized mainly in Least Developed Countries with up to 30 participants per workshop;

Component 3: A flagship GSDR as a basis of discussions of heads of state at the HLPF 2019 delivered.

Principaux résultats antérieurs:  

Component 1 on knowlegde was supported by SDC, with good results. Baselines are set for each component in the logical framework (LF).  

This proposal is complementary to the Global Institutions’ support of the UN in Geneva in establishing an SDG lab within the UN Office in Geneva. UN and IISD will work hand in hand to identify and foster innovative policy approaches to deliver on the 2030 Agenda. In addition, the trainings offered by UNITAR are integral part of the UN’s support to enshrine the 2030 Agenda in national policies, with particular support for Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States. The proposal is also complementary to the Swiss bilateral engagement in SDC priority countries which benefit from the proposal.

Phase 1 01.04.2017 - 30.04.2020   (Completed)