UNDP is the knowledge frontier organization for sustainable development in the UN Development System and serves as the integrator for collective action to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Within the UNDP, the Global Policy Network (GPN) is the engine for thought leadership, UNDP’s programmatic work and a vital delivery mechanism of our integration function. The GPN also draws on expertise globally to provide more effective responses to the complex development challenges countries face in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and responding to crisis in an integrated and coherent manner. The Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) has the responsibility for developing all relevant policy and guidance to support the results of UNDP’s Strategic Plan, which is aligned with the SDGs.
The SDG Integration Team located with the GPN aims to build a coherent and consolidated menu of services emphasizing direct short-to-medium-term engagements to respond rapidly to requests from country offices for support on national implementation and monitoring of integrated policy solutions, qualitative and evidence-driven analysis for accelerated progress, and knowledge sharing and upscaling of innovative approaches to sustainable development.
In this regard, advances in digital technology are creating data at unprecedented levels of detail and speed, turning the stories of people’s lives into numbers every minute of every day, across the globe. An important focus of the integration work is to complement traditional data with new and alternative sources including digital ‘breadcrumbs,’ satellite data, social media to identify emerging trends and gain new perspectives on issues in development.
The SDG Acceleration Diagnostic initiative aims to build a systems-level approach that creates evidence-based policy options and combines with systematic interrogation of feasibility to drive development impact in the decisive decade. This process will establish best-in-class approaches to connect analytical capabilities and modeling to assess context and develop options, with qualitative methods to evaluate the options against potential bottlenecks. We will work with six (6) pilot countries to test the diagnostic during this project through support from leading experts and all analytical insights will be visualized and made available on UNDP’s Data Futures Platform.
The Data interns will partake in data collection and analysis at a national and subnational level for each of the 6 pilot countries. This in-depth analysis of the country-level landscape with data and knowledge resources will be undertaken to develop a scoping note with national partners. The insights generated from the analytics are a critical input into the diagnostic tool and will help identify accelerators relevant for the specific country context.