22 September 2015: The latest ‘Beyond 2015′ brief by the UN Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) identifies ten priority areas for coordinated action toward implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The brief is based on analysis of diverse country experiences and policy alternatives.

According to UNRISD, the ten priority areas are: rights-based, universal social policies—such as health, education, access to communication networks, energy, water and sanitation systems, and security of public spaces; an integrated policy approach – social policy should be combined with macroeconomic, environmental, income, labor market and productivity-enhancing policies; sustainable employment, production and consumption; a revisited role of the state and the public sector – states need to shoulder a primary responsibility for delivering on the new agenda and regulate the private sector; a new fiscal compact, which internalizes the environmental and social costs of production and consumption, and at the same time enables progressive income redistribution; a shift in the economic rationale – sustainable and just social and ecological outcomes should be the primary policy consideration; a coherent, consensual policy agenda, involving all stakeholders; active citizenship and effective participation as guarantors of government accountability to citizens and residents; peace and security; and global governance and international redistribution for social, economic and ecological justice.

The brief underlines that the SDGs “stand a chance of hitting the ground running” only if: civil society seizes the opportunity to press for structural changes; the academic community offers constructive and transformative ideas; and the private sector, governments and the international community depart from the path of business as usual. [Publication: Beyond 2015 Brief No. 6, September 2015 – The Sustainable Development Agenda: From Inspiration to Action]