The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) has issued a "legacy review" of UN mandates related to partnerships, to inform preparations for implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
DESA also released feedback it has received on the beta version of its online platform 'Partnerships for SDGs.' The Platform is expected to be fully launched in January 2016.
December 2015: The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) has issued a “legacy review” of UN mandates related to partnerships, to inform preparations for implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. DESA also released feedback it has received on the beta version of its online platform, titled ‘Partnerships for SDGs.’ The Platform is expected to be fully launched in January 2016.
The report, titled ‘Partnerships for Sustainable Development Goals: A Legacy Review Towards Realizing the 2030 Agenda,’ provides a historic overview of UN mandates in the context of partnerships, and outlines definitions, criteria and guidelines related to partnerships. The report also identifies existing platforms for sustainable development partnerships, including the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) and the Partnerships for SDGs Online Platform.
In the consultation report on the Online Platform, DESA synthesizes views expressed by 134 participants via an online questionnaire that was available between 19 October and 15 November 2015, as well as during an informal briefing on the Online Platform that took place on 4 November 2015. According to the synthesis, participants in the consultations called for clarifying: how stakeholders can engage with the platform; how registered information on partnership initiatives will be used; and for what purpose.
Participants also stressed the need to: allow stakeholders to report on progress related to partnership initiatives through “short succinct forms” in order to inform intergovernmental fora, in particular the HLPF; go beyond reporting on progress; and allow bi-directional learning between partnerships and national governments during the HLPF. Participants said self-reporting from partnerships should be linked with SDGs, targets, global SDG indicators, and geographic location and demographics, in order to produce a global picture of progress and gaps in multi-stakeholder partnerships’ implementation of the 2030 Agenda. [Publication: Partnerships for Sustainable Development Goals: A Legacy Review Towards Realizing the 2030 Agenda] [Publication: Partnerships for the Sustainable Development Goals: Synthesis of consultations] [Partnerships for SDGs Platform] [IISD RS Story on Informal Briefing]