October 2012: The Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI) has published a policy brief discussing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as an option for achieving momentum for development. The brief concludes that, if designed carefully, the SDGs could create a foundation for development success.

It recommends international agreement on the SDGs as a first step. The paper, titled “Concretizing vagueness: new momentum for development through sustainable development goals?”, recommends ensuring that the economic, environmental and social concerns of sustainable development are given balanced weight. The authors, Stine Klapper and Nicole Kranz, suggest increased attention to goals’ interconnectedness to improve targeting of assistance and avoid duplication. The brief further recommends poverty alleviation remain a critical component of the SDGs. The authors argue that the green economy should contribute to current and future economic and social development within countries and globally, while cautioning against conditionalities and protectionist measures that could hinder development.

Measuring progress is a main concern, according to the brief. Using the example of the Joint Monitoring Programme on Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 7 (access to water supply and sanitation), the authors describe how a focus on efforts may overlook actual progress, and recommend working to identify the actions that have contributed to positive outcomes.

On governance and institutions, the brief gives two options: either designating one global entity to track progress to ensure coherence and interconnectedness, or assigning responsibility to individual UN agencies for relevant goals. The authors recommend increased collaboration and correlation of national and global institutions to facilitate action and strengthen accountability.

The brief also considers the relationship between the SDGs and the MDGs, suggesting that the linkages between the two are not clear in the Outcome Document of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20), even though the Document calls for an integrated approach. Still, the authors suggest the SDG debate may be helpful in carrying over the MDGs beyond 2015. [Publication: La Lettre de l’IDDRI, October 2012] [Publication: Concretizing vagueness: new momentum for development through sustainable development goals?]