Initiative: Strengthening effectiveness of Romanian institutions and PCSD to reach SDGs (StrengthRO-SDGs)
Institution: Department of Sustainable Development
Problem: Sustainable development (SD) has been part of the Romanian national agenda since 1999, when the government developed the first national sustainable development strategy. The Romanian Strategy was updated and relaunched in November 2008. After adopting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Romanian government recognized the need to update the strategy to reflect the priorities of the 17 SDGs. The new strategy defines Romania’s national framework for implementing the 2030 Agenda, providing a roadmap towards achieving the 17 SDGs, focusing on innovation, resilience and the belief that the role of state is to serve the needs of each citizen in a fair, efficient and balanced manner, within a clean environment.
Solution: In November 2018, the Romanian government launched ‘StrengthRO–SDGs’, an initiative aimed at enhancing its role in implementing SDGs through enhanced coherence, engagement and communication. Since the approval of Romania’s Sustainable Development Strategy 2030 (ROSDS) in November 2018, the Romanian government, through the Department of Sustainable Development (DSD), has engaged in a constant effort to advance effective, efficient, transparent, innovative and citizen-centered governance for sustainable development. DSD was established in 2017, as part of the Prime Minister’s Office, with the main role of coordinating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in Romania.
Impact: The target groups of the StrengthRO–SDGs initiative are ministries, other central public authorities, local public authorities, the business environment and civil society. DSD established formal governance arrangements and informal working methods to support effective communication between ministries and departments and between ministries and DSD. It also worked to build contacts between civil society organizations and the DSD over the SDGs, to raise public awareness and mobilize support on SDGs and government commitments supporting PCSD, through campaigns, policy dialogue, capacity building and information sharing. DSD communicates to a large public about the stage and the evolution of ROSDS through different channels and organizes events dedicated to the implementation of ROSDS in partnership with several stakeholders. According to the OECD evaluation, “Romania has a strong strategic framework in place to guide the implementation of the SDGs.