July 2019: The UN released two resources on partnerships for small island developing States (SIDS) in preparation for the UN General Assembly’s (UNGA) high-level review of the SAMOA Pathway. The SIDS Partnership Toolbox provides criteria and norms, as well as guidance on getting started with a partnership, setting up a governance framework and a monitoring programme, communicating with stakeholders and accessing financing. A report analyzes trends in SIDS partnerships.

The SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway is the outcome of the Third International Conference on SIDS, which took place in September 2014, in Apia, Samoa. The document covers the period 2015-2025, and promotes international assistance to address challenges faced by small islands. The high-level meeting will serve as a mid-term review of the agreement, and will convene on 27 September 2019. The political declaration to be adopted during the review meeting is still under negotiation by UN Member States.

The SIDS Partnership Toolbox builds on consultations made through a series of partnership dialogues for SIDS that took place in 2018 to support the preparatory process for the High-level Review. The toolbox was officially launched during the Global Multi-stakeholder SIDS Partnership Dialogue in July 2019. It is produced by the Division for Sustainable Development Goals (DSDG) in the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).

The toolbox includes sections on: participate and contribute, design, evaluate, analyze and explore, and learn. It direct users to platforms to register a partnership for SIDS, and to report on partnership progress. It also presents partnership case studies and a partnership quiz. On SIDS partnership criteria and norms, the toolbox says that these provide a good starting point for articulating a genuine and durable partnership. The criteria are presented as a version of the ‘SMART‘ criteria: SIDS specific, Measurable and monitorable, Achievable and accountable, Resource-based and results-focused, and Timeline for implementation and transparency by all parties.

Also in preparation for the SAMOA Pathway review, DSDG issued a report analyzing the status and trends of 555 partnerships for SIDS that have been announced and registered with the UN Secretariat. Among other observations, the report indicates that:

• the Pacific region has registered the highest number of partnerships, followed by the Caribbean region and the region of Atlantic, Indian Ocean and South China Sea (AIS);
• in March 2019, a large number of partnerships had completed their activities, and more were coming to an end “shortly;”
• governments, regional organizations and UN entities lead most of the listed partnerships;
• all SAMOA Pathway priority areas are addressed by the listed partnerships, but an overall stronger focus is found on oceans and seas, climate change, sustainable economic growth, renewable energy and disaster risk reduction;
• among global partnerships, climate change and resilience represent the largest priority area “by far,” while other commonly addressed areas include biodiversity and oceans, access to education, particularly higher education, access to technologies, data and information, and renewable energy. Under-represented areas include social development, poverty, gender equality, sustainable consumption and production, health and non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and sustainable transportation.

The report also discusses, inter alia, the positive impacts of partnerships, as well as gaps encountered and challenges. [SIDS Partnership Toolbox] [Publication: Partnerships for Small Island Developing States]