21 November 2013: The UN Development Group (UNDG) has produced the first edition of the ‘People’s Voices Issue Brief,’ conveying the views of people that contributed to consultations on the post-2015 development agenda at global, regional and national levels as well as through the MY World survey.

The brief is released ahead of the fifth meeting of the UN General Assembly’s (UNGA) Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and focuses on agenda items for OWG 5: growth, macroeconomic policy, infrastructure, industrialization, and energy.

According to UNDG, the People’s Voices brief complements the Issue Briefs prepared by the experts of the UN Technical Support Team (TST), and adds a “sense of urgency” to several issues.

According to the brief, consultation results show that people are interested in achieving sustainable and inclusive economic growth, with increased government policies and accountability of the private sector. Participants also recognized the importance of the industrial and service sector, while expressing hope to move toward higher value-added production, more resource-efficient technologies, and better working conditions.

Recommending an increase in partnership for the investment in infrastructure, participants called for consideration of the location and quality of such infrastructure. Access to reliable, affordable, clean energy is also of utmost importance to respondents, and there is strong consensus on the need for an inclusive approach to energy provision.

Responses also reflect concern for environmental sustainability and the growing effects of climate change. On development finance, participants called for diversifying sources of financing, and improving development gains from international trade. The need to manage the international financial system was stressed, as was the need to achieve international policy coherence through global institutions.

The consultations led by UNDG have reached over 1.6 million people around the world, with a particular goal of including the voices of the poor and marginalized. [Publication: People’s Voices – Issue Brief] [Webpage for OWG 5] [World We Want Platform] [IISD RS Story on TST Issue Briefs]