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.
CEPA 18th session findings and recommendations move forward
The report of the 18th session of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA), held in April 2019, is now available in the six official UN languages. A key message of the session was that building equal and inclusive societies and leaving no one behind requires addressing the deep inequalities that exist in many countries. This in turn may require institutions at all levels to play a greater role in promoting and enforcing non-discriminatory laws and policies. The Committee also emphasized the critical role of institutions in achieving all of the SDGs and examined progress, identified prospects and recommended actions for advancing implementation of institutional aspects of SDG 16 at the national and subnational levels. These and other matters are reflected in a draft resolution and decision for review and adoption by the Economic and Social Council at its coordination and management meeting in July 2019, as well as in the Committee’s input to the 2019 High-Level Political Forum. More information is available here.
Holistic Approaches for Implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the Caribbean Region (15-16 May 2019, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago)
The Learning Conference on “Holistic approaches for the implementation of Agenda 2030 in the Caribbean Region” was held in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, from 15 to 16 May 2019. The Conference was co-organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). Over 60 participants from 21 Caribbean countries participated in this capacity development activity as a follow-up to the Regional Symposium on “Implementing the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and the SAMOA Pathway in SIDS: Equipping Public Institutions and Mobilizing Partnerships” and the other Learning Conferences organized by UN DESA and UNITAR. The Learning Conference had an interdisciplinary character and involved multiple stakeholders. It was based on effective collaboration and partnership among different UN entities and relevant government institutions in line with the spirit of the 2030 Agenda. The objective of the Learning Conference was to provide a space for practical learning and the exchange of knowledge and experiences among government representatives involved in the process of integrating the SDGs in their countries’ national development plans and budgets. It also offered a platform to learn about the most appropriate mechanisms and practices to promote a “whole of government” and “whole of society” approaches to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at national and international levels, utilizing also the experiences and lessons learned from the Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs). Further, the event provided a platform for countries to share lessons learned from their Voluntary National Reviews to the High-Level Political Forum as a means to advance the implementation of the 2030 Agenda at the national level. Click here for more information.
Compendium of national institutional arrangements for implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: 2019 update
Since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 2015, countries have continuously updated institutional arrangements in order to enable government institutions and other stakeholders to implement the Agenda. This compendium aims to document institutional arrangements related to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in a simple but standard way. The compendium covers the 46 countries that presented Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) in 2018 at the United Nations High-level Political Forum on sustainable Development. It complements similar volumes published in 2017 and 2018, which covered earlier rounds of VNRs. The compendium aims to facilitate exchanges on institutional practices and lessons learned among governments and other stakeholders, thereby helping them to support the realization of the 2030 Agenda and its SDGs. The compendium is available here .
Learning Conference on "Holistic approaches for the implementation of Agenda 2030 in the Asia-Pacific Region" (23 to 24 January 2019, Shanghai, People's Republic of China)
The Learning Conference on “Holistic approaches for the implementation of Agenda 2030 in the Asia-Pacific Region” was held in Shanghai, People’s Republic of China, from 23 to 24 January 2019. The Conference was co-organized by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and CIFAL Shanghai International Training Center, with the support of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences (SASS). 100 participants from 33 countries participated in this learning conference as a follow-up to the Regional Symposium on “Strengthening Capacities of Public Institutions and Developing Effective Partnerships to realize the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, which was held from 24-26 October 2018 in Incheon, Republic of Korea. Click here for more information.
The Member States Questionnaire (MSQ) is now available for download
Preparations for the 2020 United Nations E-Government Survey has begun. The Member States Questionnaire (MSQ) is now available here for download by the offices responsible for e-government development at the national level of UN Member States. The objective of this questionnaire is to gather information from the Member States in preparation of the United Nations E-Government Survey 2020. Please note that these responses do not directly affect the UN E-Government Development Index (EGDI), which is a composite index of Online Service Index (OSI), Telecommunications Infrastructure Index (TII) and Human Capital Index (HCI). UNDESA assesses national portals with the assistance of independent researchers to construct OSI, requests data from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to construct TII and HCI respectively. DEADLINE for submission: 31 March 2019
For any questions about this questionnaire, please contact dpidg@un.org
CEPA to take stock of institutional dimensions of SDG 16 at its April 2019 session
The Committee of Experts on Public Administration will hold its 18th session at the United Nations in New York from 8 to 12 April 2019. This year CEPA will discuss how to build strong institutions for equal and inclusive societies and take stock of progress on the institutional dimensions of SDG 16 in advance of the 2019 high-level political forum, among other matters. Registration is now open. Click
here for more information.