A research study and a call to action to invest in the enabling factors to systematically scale up multi-stakeholder action for sustainable development
It’s time to sound the alarm. At the mid-way point on our way to 2030, the SDGs are in deep trouble.
United Nations SDG Progress Report 2023
Hopes to achieve the SDGs by 2030 have all but slipped away. With progress already struggling in 2019, the Covid-19 pandemic further hindered or even reversed advancement towards the goals. A mid-point assessment shows that of 140 targets with data, only about 12% are on track; more than half are moderately or severely off track and 30% show no change or have regressed below the 2015 baseline1.
At the same time, findings published in the 2023 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report stress the urgency of the climate crisis, with human-induced warming hitting 1.1°C and rising fast.
Multi-stakeholder partnerships (MSPs) have a hugely important role in sustainable development. By aligning interests and combining public, private, and people resources and levers for change, they are uniquely placed to find innovative solutions, engage locally, challenge entrenched power, and drive a transformation towards the vision everyone on the planet can get behind: a prosperous economy, thriving society and healthy environment.
There is no time to waste. We must UNITE TO IGNITE a new wave of multi-stakeholder collaboration and unleash the power of partnership to deliver towards the SDGs and beyond.
If we are to ‘raise the game’ and become systematic in delivering far more, and far more effective partnerships, we need to put in place a concerted and targeted effort to build the enabling accelerators for widespread partnering.
The report provides the evidence and clarity on what needs to be done.
It is now up to you, your colleagues, your leaders, to invest in your staff and your organisation, and make it a partnering powerhouse. It is primarily up to governments and the UN to develop the policies and build the platforms for engagement that can unlock all of society’s resources. It is up to funders to find new modalities that can far better support collaboration and maximise the transformational impact of their resources. It is up to all of us working collaboratively to ensure our partnerships are inclusive and delivering to the highest standards.
The old African proverb states ‘if you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together’. It no longer applies. The urgency of the threats to our planet means we must go simultaneously far and fast, and we can only do that if we’re smart, prepared, and empowered. Now is the time to invest to make that happen.
The Partnering Initiative, Partnerships 2030, UN DESA, Global Forum for National SDG Advisory Bodies
September 2023
