The 2020-2021 Report of Capacity Development Workshops and Pilot Testing of the Curriculum on Governance for the Sustainable Development Goals Toolkits was prepared by UN DESA/DPIDG) and UNPOG. The Report contains key information about the 36 webinars conducted in 2020-2021 to pilot test the Curriculum's toolkits. The Curriculum on Governance for the SDGs is a comprehensive set of Training of Trainers Capacity Development Toolkits developed by DPIDG, UN DESA.

This report highlights the themes of "Smart Cities at The Epicenter of The Pandemic". It not only focuses on performance of global smart cities in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, but also adheres to the “Humanity, Technology and Sustainability” principle. Using the “5+1” evaluation model for global smart cities, which includes five quantitative indicators, namely smart infrastructure, smart economy, smart services, smart governance, and smart innovation, plus one qualitative indicator "smart reputation", the report shows that global smart cities can be divided into three levels: "leading", "advanced" and "following". Some excellent cases in global cities dealing with coronavirus are presented in the final chapter.

The publication is intended as a companion document to the Curriculum on Governance for the Sustainable Development Goals and its Toolkit on Changing Mindsets in Public Institutions to Implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, developed by UN DESA/DPIDG. The publication aims to support countries in building their capacities to realize Agenda 2030. It does so by providing key recommendations on how to promote public servants’ mindsets, competencies, and behaviors to foster effectiveness, accountability, and inclusiveness in the public sector.

The handbook is developed based on the Toolkit and is intended to be used by local and national governments in training and capacity development workshops related to Risk-informed Governance and Innovative Technology for Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience. The handbook aims to build national capacities to spearhead innovations and utilize Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) and key frontier technologies in government in order to drive DRR and resilience.

Five years after the start of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, governance issues remain at the forefront. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted even more the importance of national institutions for the achievement of the SDGs. The World Public Sector Report 2021 focuses on three dimensions of institutional change at the national level. First, it documents changes in institutional arrangements for SDG implementation since 2015. Second, it assesses the development, performance, strengths and weaknesses of follow-up and review systems for the SDGs. Third, it examines efforts made by governments and other stakeholders to enhance the capacity of public servants to implement the SDGs.