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��Key findings and Recommendations

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Welcome & Introduction

Moderator: Oli Henman, Global Coordinator, Action for Sustainable Development

Presentation of main findings: Nicolas Sautejeau, Policy and Advocacy Officer, A4SD

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Seventh Edition of the Progressing SDGs Implementation Report:�Context

  • The Progressing SDGs Implementation Report has been developed and published by a group of civil society networks and international NGOs, every year since 2016.
  • A team of researchers analyzes and collects data from all available VNR reports each year, based on a comprehensive analytical framework made up of 100+ variables.
  • In 2022, the analysis was based on 44 countries - 43 full VNR reports + 1 country that only presented main messages (Tuvalu)

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Seventh Edition of the Progressing SDGs Implementation Report:�Context

  • This report was produced with financial or in-kind support from the following organizations: Action for Sustainable Development (A4SD), Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND), BOND, Centro de Pensamiento Estratégico Internacional (CEPEI), Cooperation Canada, CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness (CPDE), Forus International, Global Focus, International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), Save the Children (UK), Sightsavers, Together 2030 and World Vision International.

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Seventh Edition of the Progressing SDGs Implementation Report:�Context

  • The drafting team was led by Nicolas Sautejeau and Oli Henman (Action for Sustainable Development)
  • Particular thanks to Javier Surasky (CEPEI), Bihter Moschini (ANND), Eleonora Bonaccorsi, Elena Kosolapova, Hajra Atiq and Alma Citlalli Galicia Cruz (IISD) for their VNR country analysis and chapter contributions
  • The policy briefs were developed as follows:
    • Civic Space- Deirdre de Burca (Forus) and Josefina Villegas (CPDE)
    • Leave No One Behind- Lilei Chow (Save The Children) and Arelys Bellorini (World Vision International)
    • Localisation- Darron Seller-Perritz (Cooperation Canada)

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Key Elements of the report

  • Governance, Institutional Mechanisms and Engagement: including the format for governance oversight of the Agenda and how far these include non-state actors, with a focus on civil society groups
  • Policy frameworks: considering elements of baseline and gap analysis, policy coherence as well as the incorporation of the 2030 Agenda into national frameworks
  • Implementing the 2030 Agenda: this includes the steps taken to implement the Agenda, including awareness-raising, localisation, MoI, challenges and best practices, and a focus on Leaving No One Behind
  • Reporting: considering how far the reports link with the Voluntary Common Reporting Guidelines to ensure comparability

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Key findings 1-4

  • ‘Whole of society’ approach: The review of 2022 VNR reports included a similar level of references to the inclusion of non-state actors in formal SDG governance arrangements as 2021.
  • SDG assessments and integration: In 2022 a higher number of countries mentioned having conducted a baseline or gap analysis than previous years. However, there was more limited reporting on national priorities, as well as regarding information on the integration of the SDGs into national planning.
  • Transformative principles of the 2030 Agenda: There has been some improvement in the reports’ inclusion of information on key principles - mainly on leaving no one behind and human rights. However, reporting on universality, planetary boundaries and intergenerational responsibility is still uneven.
  • Reporting on linkages between the 2030 Agenda and other relevant international agreements: There were mixed results on interlinkages, with the Paris Agreement on climate change once again being the most frequently cited agreement in the VNRs, and the global aid/development effectiveness agenda being the least mentioned.

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Key findings: Governance arrangements and whole-of-society approach

  • 86% of countries in 2022 mentioned making use of new or already existing councils or committees for SDG governance
  • 66% of VNR countries in 2022 noted the inclusion of non-state actors in governance arrangements for SDG implementation (similar to 2019, 2020 and 2021)
  • The number of countries including civil society in lead councils and committees remained stable (39%), inclusion in technical working groups increased (32% from 19% in 2021)
  • The number of countries highlighting civil society participation in consultations within VNR-formulation processes increased to 93% in 2022, from 81% in 2021.
  • There was an increase regarding non-state actor involvement in consultations to define national priorities (55% in 2022 from 31% in 2021)

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Key findings: SDG baselines, gap analysis, national priorities and integration into policy frameworks

  • 61% of countries reported completing a baseline or gap analysis, a modest improvement compared to 2021 (55%)
  • Regarding the definition of national priorities, there was a decrease, with 77% of countries in 2022, compared to 91% in 2021
  • SDG integration into national policies remained stable, with 93% of countries reporting (same as 2021)

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Key findings 5-7

  • Partnerships and Implementation: Overall, there was an increase in references to some aspects of the 2030 Agenda’s Means of Implementation, but in most cases detailed information regarding SDG-costing and resource-identification was missing.
  • Follow up and review: Information remains very limited on data availability and fewer countries reported on the use of unofficial data in their VNR reports.
  • Common reporting guidelines for VNR processes: While most countries presenting VNRs in 2022 did follow the majority of the Secretary-General’s common reporting guidelines, there are still considerable gaps in the use of these guidelines, which undermines the valuable possibilities for greater comparability between VNR processes of different member states.

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Key findings: SDG follow up, review and partnerships for implementation

  • The percentage of countries reporting on data availability remains low, with 43% of countries doing so in 2022 (36% in 2021)
  • 20% of countries reported that data is available for less than 50% of SDG indicators
  • 64% of countries provided some degree of information on national level reporting processes (similar to 2021 and 2020), with Parliaments most often identified as the institution leading oversight.
  • Civil society partnerships: In 2022, 66% provided such information, a significant decrease in relation to 2021, when 86% did so.

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Recommendations

Although numbers in 2022 are either stable or higher regarding specific governance arrangements and non-state actor participation, qualitative information regarding the nature and scope of these is often minimal

VNRs should provide greater details on specific mandates of these spaces, how these spaces are linked to the policymaking and/or reporting cycles, methodologies for participation, and highlight substantive outcomes

Although prioritization and SDG integration into national policies are high in principle, substantive details are often not specified in VNRs

Where possible, Member States should aim to highlight the manner and the extent to which SDG integration into national policy frameworks has been made and has led to transformations in policy approaches and outcomes

More generally, Member states should strive to follow the UN Secretary General’s voluntary common guidelines as closely as possible, as well as the questions provided in the VNR Handbook

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Key findings: State of civic Space��Deirdre de Burca, Forus International

The 2022 VNR reports continue to be largely silent on issues of shrinking civic space globally, and on the ongoing attacks on human rights defenders and environmentalists.

There was a slight increase in the number of countries addressing civic space at the national level. 12 of 44 VNR reports presented in 2022 included insights into the state of national civic spaces.

These insights mainly described constitutional, regulatory, or policy-based reforms that have been adopted in order to enhance freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of association, access to information, as well as participation.

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Key findings: State of civic Space

  • In contrast, several civil society reports produced in 2022 highlight how shrinking civic space remains a serious problem in their national contexts by providing information on government actions that hinder freedom of expression, assembly, association, and access to information – which in some cases contradicts the information contained in the official VNRs.
  • It is a matter of serious concern that much of the information linked to the increasing trend of shrinking civic space shared by civil society parallel and shadow reports is being ignored, or only partially dealt with by official VNR reports.

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Recommendations for International community:

    • Agree on an annual review of SDG 16 by the HLPF

Agree on

    • Adopt new structural and process-oriented civic space indicators linked to SDG 16 implementation

Adopt

    • Establish a new global Civic Space Observatory

Establish

    • Provide flexible funding to support the operation of CSOs in contexts of closed or closing civic space

Provide

    • Resource the capacity development of organized civil society everywhere

Resource

    • Include assessments of civic space in investor risk-assessment approaches

Include

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Recommendations for national governments:

Establish

Establish an enabling environment for organized civil society

Ensure

Ensure open, regular and structured dialogue with civil society at the national level

Report on

Report on national civic space trends in the VNRs they submit to the UN HLPF process

Support

Support civil society reports being given recognition and status in the UN HLPF process

Engage in

Engage in peer exchange with other governments to share good practice on civic space issues

Access

Be able to access specific international funding linked to SDG 16+ to support implementation of key actions linked to civic space in their countries,

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Key findings: Leave No One Behind��Lilei Chow, Save The Children

  • The VNR reports in 2022 included a high level of references to the ‘Leave No One Behind’ (LNOB) principle: In 2022, 96% of the reporting countries mentioned the principle of leaving no one behind (the number in 2021 was 100%). Countries either provided information throughout their VNR report or included a dedicated chapter or smaller section on LNOB.
  • However, challenges remain in terms of data availability, as well as the level of detail and quality of information provided on LNOB: In 2022, VNR reports from only 17 out of 44 countries (39%) indicated that efforts to LNOB were informed by existing data.

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Key findings: Leave No One Behind

  • Limited incorporation into national policies and plans: In 2022, 28 countries (or 64%) made explicit references to embedding leaving no one behind or efforts to address inequality and social exclusion within their national priorities or development plans. This represents a significant decrease in the incorporation of the principle of leaving no one behind in the creation of national sustainable development policies – compared to 84% in 2021.
  • Impact of COVID-19 on LNOB: In 2022, 34 out of the 44 reporting countries (77%) provided information on the specific impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic from an LNOB perspective, a small decrease compared to the 36 out of the 42 reporting countries (or 86%) that did so in 2021.

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Recommendations for national governments:

Provide information on the status of data collection and/or plans to improve data availability to inform efforts to leave no one behind

Ensure that the VNRs highlight:

Existing efforts on LNOB, including how existing policies and programmes are delivered;

Planned efforts on LNOB, including a specific focus on new approaches to reach the people who are the furthest behind first;

Overarching and systemic policy approaches including any micro and microeconomic policies.

Include a specific chapter on ‘leaving no one behind’ in future VNR reports

Ensure policies and programmes take into account the principle to ‘leave no one behind’

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Recommendations for national governments:

Promote

Promote gender equality through international good practice such as gender budgeting, and gender-based analysis

Report on

Report on the outcomes of efforts to ‘leave no one behind’

Include

Include civil society and other stakeholders in VNR processes and civil society expertise and citizen-generated data in the analysis of progress on the SDGs

Target

Target reductions in domestic inequality in 2030 Agenda implementation

Ensure

Ensure clear analysis of major crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and outline the efforts being made to ensure that no one is left behind

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Key findings: Localisation��Darron Seller-Peritz,�Cooperation Canada

  • There were fewer references to localization in the 2022 VNRs.

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  • Countries that provided some level of information on their efforts to localise the SDGs decreased slightly to 77% from 83% in 2021, whereas countries that referred to integrating the 2030 Agenda increased slightly, from 31% to 36%.

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  • Almost no movement on coordination between national government institutions and local governments (16 countries, or 36%, in 2022; 38% in 2021).

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  • Only 7 out of the 44 reporting countries (or 16%) mentioned VLRs, which is lower than the 15 countries reporting on VLRs in 2021 (or 36%).

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Key findings: Localisation

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Recommendations for national governments: Localisation

Prioritise the needs and perspectives of marginalised and vulnerable communities

Strengthen data collection and monitoring systems

Encourage the local private sector to invest

Strengthen coordination with local governments and local institutional structures, capacities and resources

Ensure local priorities inform local level actions, as well as broader national plans.

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Recommendations: Localisation

  • Leverage technology!

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  • Advocate for local and regional reporting tools at the HLPF

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Question & Answers on the main findings of the Progressing National SDG Implementation 2022 report

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Reflection Panel

  • Moderator: Deirdre de Burca, Forus International

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  • Richard Osei-Bofah, National Development Planning Commission, Ghana
  • Zia Ur-Rehman, Awaz PDA, Pakistan SDG Alliance
  • Thomas Alfstad, Interregional Adviser for Sustainable Development Strategies, Economic Analysis and Policy Division, UNDESA

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Please take 20 seconds to tell us how satisfied you are with today’s meeting! Scan the QR code with your mobile phone or click on the link in the chat box.

Merci de prendre 20 secondes pour nous indiquer votre degré de satisfaction à l’égard de cette réunion ! Scannez le code QR avec la camera de votre téléphone portable ou Cliquez sur le lien dans la chat box.

Por favor, tome 20 segundos para indicarnos su nivel de satisfacción sobre la reunión. Escanee el Código QR con la cámara de su teléfono móvil o haga clic en el enlace en la caja de diálogo.

Collecting your opinion is very important for us!

Connaître votre opinion est très important pour nous !

¡Conocer su opinión es muy importante para nosotros!

MERCI !

THANK YOU!

¡GRACIAS!

Obrigado!

Por favor, demore 20 segundos para nos dizer como está satisfeito com a reunião de hoje! Digitalize o código QR com o seu telemóvel ou clique no link na caixa de chat.

A recolha da sua opinião é muito importante para nós!

2022 Progressing National SDG Implementation Report

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��Check out the website with all the reports here:�https://www.progressingsdgs.org/