Resources

Global Smart Cities 2021 is a collaborative result by Institute of Information, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences partnered with Smart City Research Center, Fudan University, with consistent support from the United Nations Public Administration Network. This report is the fifth edition of annual review of global smart cities. This report based on a “5+1” evaluation model for global smart cities, and provides five quantitative indicators,…

The 2030 Agenda recognizes that capacity in governments at all levels is critical to steer and support the transformations which it calls for. Thus, public servants at all levels of government need the capacity to successfully implement, follow up and review the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs are an umbrella framework encompassing almost every sector of human activity. In a broad sense, “capacity for implementing the SDGs”…

Five years after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with one third of the implementation period of its 17 Sustainable Development Goals having elapsed, it is important to take stock of relevant institutional arrangements at the national level. Institutionalization of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs lays the foundation for their effective implementation. It also serves as an indicator of the degree to which the Agenda is…

The 2030 Agenda highlights the importance of the follow-up and review of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as an accountability mechanism and sets clear principles to guide it. Accountability institutions such as parliaments and supreme audit institutions (SAIs) are playing an increasing role in SDG oversight and assessment. However, while countries have made significant progress in institutionalizing SDG follow-up and review, the…

With one third of the implementation period of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) having elapsed, it is important to take stock of how far countries have gone in adapting their institutional frameworks to implement the Goals. Institutions are paramount to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This is well recognized in the Agenda itself. Five years after the start…

The 2021 global SDG 16 Conference – Transforming Governance for a more Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Future: SDG 16 as the roadmap to respond to COVID-19 and build back better – came to a successful conclusion on Friday, 30 April 2021, following six high-level plenary sessions and nine parallel thematic sessions, all held in a virtual format. Co-organized by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), the International…

This report summarizes the key messages that were conveyed by facilitators, participants and external speakers during the online training workshop on “Changing Mindsets and Strengthening Governance Capacities for Policy Coherence for a Holistic Implementation of the 2030 Agenda in the Arab region”. The four-day workshop was organized by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations (UN DESA), through its…

This White Paper provides a bird’s-eye view of the governance challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, with trust as the central theme. In cooperation with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan and Japanese companies and academia, the World Economic Forum Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Japan is working to find solutions to common challenges that exist at the root of various fields. As part of the effort, this…

This publication on ‘Building Capacities for Public Service in Post-Conflict Countries’ represents a more nuanced contribution to the discourse on post-conflict reconstruction by focusing on some of the most fundamental and earliest elements to be addressed in the conflict/post-conflict/reconstruction spectrum, namely: constitutional enshrinement of the character of government institutions; political will and leadership; and the necessity of…

This publication is intended for policy makers, scholars and practitioners who have a keen interest in concrete solutions to governance challenges. Its purpose is to encourage more women and men in the public sector who are working hard to improve citizens’ lives to share with the world their innovations by applying to the United Nations Public Service Awards Programme which is held annually; to recognize the efforts of those who have already…

Innovations in Governance in the Middle East, North Africa, and Western Balkans: Making Governments Work Better in the Mediterranean region leads us through the journey of innovation by analysing the challenges and opportunities that governments in this region have faced to improve their public administration systems. All the innovations highlighted in this publication are significant – whether the innovation is large or small, in one government…

The Committee of Experts on Public Administration of the UN looks at the ways in which public administration and institutional governance can be mobilized to most effectively implement the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). This report includes essays by some of the leading figures of the Committee on issues critical to shaping the contemporary state in order to implement the MDG. This issues range, for instance, from migration and primary…