Compendium of national institutional arrangements for implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – 2019 VNR update

In the four years since the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development came into effect, countries across the world have made significant efforts to establish the institutional arrangements necessary for the successful implementation of the sustainable development goals (SDGs). This compendium aims to document these institutional arrangements in a simple and standardized way, with a view to facilitating exchanges on institutional practices and lessons learned among governments and other stakeholders. It covers the 47 countries that presented Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) at the United Nations High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in July 2019. This new volume complements similar volumes published in 2017 and 2018, which covered earlier rounds of VNRs. The compendium is available here.

Accelerating SDG16 implementation through transformative governance: Building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions to sustain peace and development

UNDESA and the International Development Law Organization (IDLO), with the Government of Italy are organizing a conference that follows the 2019 Rome conference on “Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies: Sustainable Development Goal 16 implementation and the path towards leaving no one behind”. It is the first of a series of conferences to be co-organized by UNDESA and IDLO with the Italian Government during the forthcoming decade of action and delivery for sustainable development on different themes related to SDG 16. The initiative responds to the SDG Summit’s call to accelerate progress towards SDG 16 and the 2030 Agenda as a whole, and is intended to provide a platform to mobilize a broad spectrum of SDG 16 policy makers, champions and practitioners. The conference will address ways to develop effective institutions, ensure equal access to justice, and enhance service delivery. It will focus on national and local implementation supported by broad national coalitions as well as regional and international partnerships, and on ways of scaling up progress through innovation and enhanced financing. The conference will take place in Rome, Italy, from 8-10 June 2020. 

Briefing Session on the 2020 United Nations Public Service Forum

The 2020 United Nations Public Service Forum (UNPSF) will take place in Busan, Republic of Korea from 23 to 26 June 2020, under the theme "Action Today, Impact Tomorrow: Innovating and Transforming Public Services and Institutions to Realize the Sustainable Development Goals". The Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea, the Republic of Korea's Ministry of Interior and Safety and UN DESA will organize a briefing session to Member States on the 2020 Forum on 11 February at the UN Secretariat. The briefing will draw together current and past UN Public Service Forum hosts and substantive experts to discuss the role of innovating and transforming public services and institutions to realize the SDGs. Click here for more information.

Addressing Emerging Requirements and Challenges for Policy and Decision-Making in Digital Transformation in Developing Countries

UN DESA is organizing an Expert Group Meeting on Addressing Emerging Requirements and Challenges for Policy and Decision-Making in Digital Transformation in Developing Countries . The purpose of the meeting is to address the question of how to address the emerging requirements and challenges for policy and decision-making in digital transformation in developing countries, in particular in countries in special situations. Experts will discuss the issue of how to strengthen the digital capacity of developing countries to participate in, and benefit from, the growing opportunities of digitalization. It is hoped that the EGM will result in recommendations on priority actions to meet the capacity building requirements of developing countries and integrate such actions into the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals. Click here for more information.

14th Annual Meeting of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF)

The 14th annual meeting the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) will take place from 25-29 November in Berlin, Germany under the theme of One World. One Net. One Vision. Convened by the Secretary-General and supported by DESA, IGF will bring diverse actors together to exchange information and share good policies and practices relating to the Internet governance and technologies on three major themes: I. Data Governance, II. Digital Inclusion, and III. Security, Safety Stability & Resilience, with associated issues on: addressing the multiple digital divides; how AI and other new technologies are affecting humankind; cyber security; fake news; gender equality; and shaping the digital future to ensure our human rights and sustainable development. While the IGF may not have decision-making mandates, it informs and inspires those who do. It facilitates common understandings and knowledge exchange of how to maximize Internet opportunities and address risks and challenges. António Guterres, UN Secretary-General, Angela Merkel, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Liu Zhenmin, Under-Secretary-General of DESA, will attend the meeting among many other high-profile representatives from governments, civil society, the private sector and other international organizations. Click here for more information.

Building Capacities of Training Schools and Institutes of Public Administration to implement the 2030 Agenda and attain the SDGs

UN DESA together with UNDP, UNRCCA, the Astana Civil Service Hub and the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan is organizing a workshop on Building Capacities of Training Schools and Institutes of Public Administration to implement the 2030 Agenda and attain the SDGs. The workshop aims to build the capacity of public servants to support the implementation of the SDGs through developing and updating the curricula of public administration schools and institutes to reflect the SDGs, and the key principles and objectives of the 2030 Agenda. It will take place in Almaty, Kazakhstan, from 27 to 29 November. Read more here.

Symposium on Leveraging Public Governance to Accelerate the Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals – Transformation, Innovation & Inclusion

UN DESA in collaboration with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) of the Government of the Republic of Korea is organizing a Symposium on Leveraging Public Governance to Accelerate the Achievement of the SDGs. The main objective of the Symposium is to strengthen the capacities of government officials to transform their own public institutions and accelerate achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It aims to reflect on how best to mobilize, organize and equip institutions and rally whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches to promote sustainable development by taking stock of progress made in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. It will provide an opportunity to discuss how to promote government innovation for social inclusion of vulnerable groups, with a focus on youth, women and persons with disabilities. The Symposium will actively engage with civil society organizations and the private sector to discuss innovative partnerships. Mr. Ban Ki-moon, the 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations will deliver a special address. The Symposium will take place in Incheon, Republic of Korea, from 20 to 22 November. Read more here.

UNPSA 2020 Call for Nominations

The 2020 United Nations Public Service Awards (UNPSA) is now open for nominations under the following categories: 1) delivering inclusive and equitable services for all; 2) promoting integrated mechanisms for sustainable development; 3) developing transparent and accountable public institutions; 4) promoting digital transformation in the public sector, and 5) promoting gender responsive public services to achieve the SDGs. The UNPSA is an annual Award that recognizes excellence in public service at the local, regional and national levels. It promotes and rewards innovation and excellence in public services in support of the realization of the SDGs and the principle of leaving no one behind. Public institutions at the national, sub-national, and local level from all UN member states are eligible to apply. In the case of public-private partnerships, the lead nominee must be a public-sector institution. The deadline for submitting nominations is  27 November 2019. To apply click here.

2019 UN Public Service Forum

The 2019 United Nations Public Service Forum, held on the occasion of the UN Public Service Day, took place in Baku, Azerbaijan from 24 to 26 June 2019. The Forum focused on critical challenges and strategies for achieving the SDGs, including inclusive governance and public administration, the changing role of the public service in achieving the SDGs, fostering and mainstreaming innovation, digital transformation, transformational leadership, as well as institutions and capacity building. Over 700 participants attended the Forum from about 100 countries. The Forum was opened by Mr. Liu Zhenmin, Under-Secretary General for Economic and Social Affairs and the First Vice President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The 11 winners of the 2019 UN Public Service Awards were recognized during an award ceremony. The 2019 World Public Sector Report was launched on the first day of the event. Several parallel capacity development workshops were held during the Forum along with plenary sessions and a Ministerial roundtable.  Please click here for more information.

Get to know the UNPSA Winners

With a little over a month to go before nominations open for the 2020 United Nations Public Service Awards (UNPSA), what kind of initiatives does it take to win the UNPSA? Get to know past winning UNPSA initiatives and how they relate to the SDGs when you visit the UNPS Innovation Hub. UNPSA promote and reward innovation and excellence in public services in support of the realization of the 2030 Agenda. For more information visit the UNPS Innovation Hub webpage.

World Public Sector Report 2019 now available

The World Public Sector Report 2019 is available online. The report, entitled Sustainable Development Goal 16: Focus on Public Institutions, looks at national-level developments in relation to several concepts highlighted in the targets of Goal 16, which are viewed as institutional principles: access to information, transparency, accountability, anti-corruption, inclusiveness of decision-making processes, and non-discrimination. The report surveys global trends in these areas, documenting both the availability of information on those trends and the status of knowledge about the effectiveness of related policies and institutional arrangements in different national contexts. It also demonstrates how the institutional principles of SDG 16 have been informing the development of institutions in various areas, including gender equality and women’s empowerment (SDG 5). The report examines two critical instruments that can support effective public institutions and public administration for the SDGs, namely national budget processes and risk management. The World Public Sector Report 2019 aims to inform the first review of SDG 16 at the United Nations high-level political forum on sustainable development in July 2019, and to contribute to future efforts to monitor progress on SDG 16. By reviewing key challenges and opportunities for public institutions in the context of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda at the national level, the report also aims to inform efforts by all countries to create effective institutions to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals.

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