The Independent Research Forum on a Post-2015 Development Agenda (IRF2015) hosted an informal retreat for UN Member States to discuss creating an integrated finance framework for development.
Discussion focused on mobilizing different forms of finance for development priorities, in the context of intergovernmental negotiations on the proposed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD 3).
16 February 2015: The Independent Research Forum on a Post-2015 Development Agenda (IRF2015) hosted an informal retreat for UN Member States to discuss creating an integrated finance framework for development. Discussion focused on mobilizing different forms of finance for development priorities, in the context of intergovernmental negotiations on the proposed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD 3).
The retreat convened from 15-16 February 2015, in Tarrytown, New York, and consisted of three discussion topics: the priorities for and gaps in financing for sustainable development; design principles for a coherent and effective finance approach; and policy options for unlocking public finance. Participants also considered how to increase the coherence and volume of both public and private financial sources across the three topics.
Experts from civil society organizations gave presentations and presented briefing papers to stimulate discussion. Peter Hazlewood, World Resources Institute (WRI), proposed that multi-stakeholder partnerships should feature strongly in post-2015 to scale up resources, innovation, and action. Habibur Rahman, Bangladesh Bank, spoke of opportunities for banks to reach the most vulnerable through focusing on agricultural, small and medium enterprise, rural, and green lending. Nick Robbins, UN Environment Programme (UNEP), suggested that reforms of the US$300 trillion international financial sector could bring its priorities more in line with those of sustainable development. Aniket Shah, Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), called for a revolution in private finance that moves global capital to the developing world and welcomes more long-term investments.
The retreat was the sixth in a series hosted by IRF2015 on subjects related to the post-2015 development agenda. It was sponsored by the Governments of the Netherlands, Norway, Saint Lucia, Switzerland, Uganda, and Viet Nam. [Retreat Website] [Opening Remarks]