GOVERNANCE AS AN SDG ACCELERATOR.

165 Pages·2019·3.289 MB·English

by  OECD

Governance as an SDG Accelerator
COUNTRY EXPERIENCES AND TOOLS
Delivering on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a formidable governance challenge for countries
Governance as an SDG
at all levels of development. It requires governments to co-ordinate, consult and work across policy areas – as
well as with the businesses sector and civil society – in an unprecedented way. This report provides evidence
from OECD countries and partner economies on how public governance practices can be strengthened to Accelerator
help implement the SDGs. It looks at whole-of-government co-ordination, policy coherence and integrity,
stakeholder engagement and open government, and the strategic use of budgeting, procurement and
regulatory tools. It discusses robust monitoring and evaluation systems for ensuring that public policies and COUNTRY EXPERIENCES AND TOOLS
resource allocations for SDG implementation result in meaningful outcomes. It also explores how governance
frameworks to support equal access to justice and gender equality can help catalyse implementation across the
entire 2030 Agenda.
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ISBN 978-92-64-48728-4
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Governance as an SDG
Accelerator
COUNTRY EXPERIENCES AND TOOLS
This work is published under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The
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Please cite this publication as:
OECD (2019), Governance as an SDG Accelerator : Country Experiences and Tools, OECD Publishing, Paris,
https://doi.org/10.1787/0666b085-en.
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FOREWORD  3

Foreword
The Sustainable Development Goals set a roadmap for a better world. One where poverty,
hunger, disease, climate change and gender inequality are no longer a threat to our planet
and wellbeing. Instead, they chart a world where decent jobs for all, sustainable
infrastructure, clean oceans and energy, responsible consumption and production, clean
water and sanitation, and quality education, become the norm.
If we are serious about achieving these ambitious goals in just over ten years, we must
accelerate progress. For that to happen, we need to mobilise financial resources, but we
also need to boost the capacity of governments to plan, to coordinate, to act, and to serve
as a catalyst in support of SDG implementation.
Governments face a particularly challenging task with the SDGs. The SDGs are complex
and multi-faceted. Governments need to be able to manage trade-offs to understand
externalities and to align and coordinate action across several ministries and levels of
government.
This report highlights some good practices and other innovative steps countries around the
world are taking towards whole-of-government coordination, stakeholder participation,
integrating the SDGs into the budget cycle, building monitoring and evaluation systems,
and strengthening integrity systems.
The OECD is committed to helping countries deliver on the SDGs. In partnership with the
UN system and other stakeholders, the OECD is also ready to work with all countries and
support them as they review and refine their institutional frameworks and policy toolboxes
in support of SDG implementation.

Marcos Bonturi
Director
OECD Public Governance Directorate

GOVERNANCE AS AN SDG ACCELERATOR © OECD 2019

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS  5

Acknowledgements
This publication was prepared under the guidance of Marcos Bonturi, Director, Irène Hors,
Deputy Director, and Sara Fyson, Counsellor and Head of the Policy Coherence for
Sustainable Development Unit, in the Public Governance Directorate. Sigita Strumskyte,
Counsellor in the Environment Directorate, managed and contributed to the preparation of
the first draft of the report.
Carina Lindberg, Policy Analyst, coordinated and reviewed all content, which was
provided by a number of colleagues: Miriam Allam, Julio Bacio Terracino,
Alessandro Bellantoni, Janos Bertok, Pauline Bertrand, Eva Beuselinck, Andrew Blazey,
Matthieu Cahen, Marco Daglio, Andrew Davies, Lena Diesing, Fleur Dsouza,
Pinar Guven, Gamze Igrioglu, Stéphane Jacobzone, Juliane Jansen, Kenza Khachani,
Chloé Lelievere, Paulo Magina, Craig Matasick, Michael Morantz, Scherie Nicol, Adam
Ostry, Jack Radisch, Toni Rumpf, Rebecca Schultz, Ernesto Soria Morales, Ivan Stola,
Tatyana Teplova and Yola Thuerer.
We are grateful to Edward Hainsworth for proof-reading all chapters, to Christelle Cordova
and Ricardo Sanchez Torres for providing valuable administrative and communications
support, and to Meral Gedik and Eleonore Morena for preparing the report for publication.
Finally, we wish to express our thanks to delegates of the Public Governance Committee
who provided helpful feedback on earlier drafts.

GOVERNANCE AS AN SDG ACCELERATOR © OECD 2019

TABLE OF CONTENTS  7

Table of contents
Foreword ................................................................................................................................................ 3
Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................ 5
Abbreviations and acronyms .............................................................................................................. 11
Executive summary ............................................................................................................................. 13
Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 15
Chapter 1. Whole-of-government coordination and policy coherence ........................................... 17
The 2030 Agenda calls for a coordinated and coherent approach to implementation ....................... 18
The role of the Centre of Government ............................................................................................... 18
Strategic planning and priority-setting ............................................................................................... 19
Public procurement as a strategic lever ............................................................................................. 20
Human resources, skills and digital tools to support SDG implementation ...................................... 21
Lessons learned from country experiences ........................................................................................ 24
References .......................................................................................................................................... 27
Chapter 2. Stakeholder participation and open government .......................................................... 29
Stakeholder participation is at the heart of SDG planning and implementation processes ................ 30
Linking open government principles to SDG implementation .......................................................... 31
Open State and the role of Parliaments in SDG implementation ....................................................... 33
Stakeholder engagement in regulatory impact assessments .............................................................. 34
Lessons learned from country experiences ........................................................................................ 34
Note .................................................................................................................................................... 36
References .......................................................................................................................................... 37
Chapter 3. Effective use of budgeting and public procurement tools ............................................. 39
Budgeting as a tool for the integration of the SDGs .......................................................................... 40
Strategic public procurement in support of the SDGs ....................................................................... 46
Lessons learned from country experiences ........................................................................................ 46
Note .................................................................................................................................................... 48
References .......................................................................................................................................... 49
Chapter 4. Monitoring, evaluation and audit institutions ............................................................... 51
Monitoring and evaluation for effective delivery of the SDGs ......................................................... 52
Monitoring mechanisms to keep track of SDG implementation ........................................................ 53
Policy evaluation to foster strategic decision-making, learning and accountability .......................... 57
Supreme Audit Institutions and the oversight of the national SDG agenda ...................................... 58
Lessons learned from country experiences ........................................................................................ 60
References .......................................................................................................................................... 62
Chapter 5. Fostering a culture of integrity and fighting corruption .............................................. 63
Fostering a culture of integrity is a key governance challenge for SDG implementation ................. 64
GOVERNANCE AS AN SDG ACCELERATOR © OECD 2019
8  TABLE OF CONTENTS

The interlinkages between integrity and SDG implementation ......................................................... 64
Implementing the SDGs by placing integrity at its core .................................................................... 68
Lessons learned from country experiences ........................................................................................ 71
References .......................................................................................................................................... 73
Chapter 6. Governance frameworks to ensure equal access to justice and citizens’ legal
empowerment ....................................................................................................................................... 77
Access to justice and legal empowerment supports inclusive growth and effective SDG
implementation .................................................................................................................................. 78
Interactions between access to justice and legal empowerment and the SDGs ................................. 78
Key elements for promoting people-centred access to justice in support of the SDGs ..................... 79
Lessons learned from country experiences ........................................................................................ 85
References .......................................................................................................................................... 88
Chapter 7. Governance frameworks to support gender equality.................................................... 89
Gender equality as a cross-cutting enabler of SDG implementation ................................................. 90
Public governance dimensions of gender equality in the context of the SDGs ................................. 90
Developing an SDG-aligned governance framework to support gender equality ............................. 91
Lessons learned from country experiences ........................................................................................ 96
References .......................................................................................................................................... 98
Annex A. Case studies on whole-of-government coordination and policy coherence ................... 99
Annex B. Case studies on stakeholder participation and open government ................................ 115
Annex C. Case studies on the effective use of budgeting and public procurement tools ............ 119
Annex D. Case studies on monitoring, evaluation and audit institutions ..................................... 127
Annex E. Case studies on fostering a culture of integrity and fighting corruption ..................... 141
Annex F. Case studies on governance frameworks to ensure equal access to justice and
citizens’ legal empowerment ............................................................................................................. 149
Annex G. Case studies on governance frameworks to support gender equality ......................... 155

Table
Table 1.1. The SDGs and the use of digital technologies ...................................................................... 24

Figures
Figure 1.1. Civil service skills for public value: A framework ............................................................. 23
Figure 4.1. MAPS Structure .................................................................................................................. 56
Figure 6.1. Criteria for people-centred legal and justice services ......................................................... 81

Figure A A.1. Main institutional mechanisms, policy documents and key actors for the
implementation of the 2030 Agenda in Finland .......................................................................... 103

GOVERNANCE AS AN SDG ACCELERATOR © OECD 2019