February 2016: Civil society organizations (CSOs) have responded to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s advance report on a global follow-up and review system for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also addressing broader questions on accountability, monitoring and indicators, as well as national implementation in Canada and other topics.

The UN Secretary-General’s recommendations “remain somewhat lackluster” regarding how the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) will be able to deliver on accountability, writes Kate Donald, Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR), in a blog post on the Health and Human Rights Journal. She states that the 2030 Agenda’s vision for accountability “is astonishingly vague and timid” and “offers no clear picture on how SDG progress will be monitored and reviewed or what the lines and channels of accountability will be.” She observes that there has been “very little political will for underpinning the new agenda with accountability.” Donald calls on civil society to develop ambitious and innovative accountability mechanisms and indicators at the national level, including oversight of the role and impact of the private sector.

The 2030 Agenda must go “beyond aid” to also promote “inclusive, results-oriented partnerships that support local leadership, capabilities and responsibility,” according to a paper by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), ‘Beyond Aid: The Integration of Sustainable Development in a Coherent International Agenda.’ The paper suggests several implementation priorities, including: broadening and deepening awareness of and support for the SDGs from a cross-section of society; increasing emphasis on local priorities, capable local systems and context-appropriate approaches; overcoming fragility as a key focus of efforts on SDG 16 on peace and justice; and including and mobilizing all sources types of financing for development. The paper also cautions that many factors will influence progress on the SDGs, such as climate change and natural disasters, global population trends, technological change, conflicts and international markets.

To improve SDG monitoring, the Sustainable Development Solutions Network’s (SDSN) Thematic Network on Data for Sustainable Development will review gaps in data and information sources, encourage improved quality and greater frequency of data collection, and strengthen data availability for SDG monitoring. The Network brings together data scientists, statisticians and experts, and aims to serve as an education and information hub on data collection, processing and dissemination for sustainable development. SDSN’s January newsletter highlights the Network’s “living manual,” which synthesizes best practices on data and measurement technology.

The Working Group on Youth-Inclusive Governance Indicators has proposed six indicators for SDG 16, including national-level indicators on: effective, accountable and transparent institutions; responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making; and access to information and protection of fundamental freedoms. The Group also suggests methods for youth-sensitive monitoring that account for the role, position and experiences of children and young people. The recommendations are presented in a publication, ‘Critical agents of change’ in the 2030 Agenda: Youth-inclusive governance indicators for national-level monitoring.’

Yale University and Columbia University invited comments on how to weight the composite index being used to develop the Environmental Performance Index (EPI). The EPI uses over 20 indicators for nine environmental issues, to rank countries’ environmental performance on protection of ecosystems and protection of human health from environmental harm. The relative weighting of selected issues affects the overall index, and responses to the survey will help determine which environmental issues and data should be prioritized. Comments can be submitted until 4 February 2016.

On national implementation, the Canadian Council for International Cooperation (CCIC) has compiled and updated a series of blog posts on the outcomes of the 2030 Agenda and each of the 17 SDGs into a publication, ‘Transforming Our World: Canadian perspectives on the SDGs.’ The report emphasizes the ambitious, complex and universal nature of the SDGs, explaining the importance of raising ambition and formulating a multi-stakeholder response to achieve the Goals for all people. [CESR Blog] [Beyond Aid] [SDSN Newsletter] [EPI Survey] [2016 EPI] [CCIC Report]