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From innovation hubs and policy experiments to regulatory sandboxes Digital technologies carry a promise to fast track sustainable development by supporting innovative, forwarding-looking policies and digital government solutions. There are, however, numerous risks and complexities of frontier technologies that come along with those opportunities, as well as policy and regulatory challenges such as those related to inclusion, competition,…

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…

Can smart cities help us achieve true sustainable development? With merely a decade to go to deliver on the 2030 agenda and the universal Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), digital development is seen as a forceful catalyst that can help governments close developmental gaps and accelerate progress. In particular, smart and sustainable cities are becoming microcosms of policy and governance transformation challenges we face in our drive…

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought chaos, uncertainty and supply chain disruptions to the global economy, impacted lives and livelihoods, and tested the resilience of governance systems, institutions and mechanisms in responding to the crisis. As the technical lead for the socio-economic response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the UN system, UNDP and its Country Offices worldwide are working to assess the socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19…

North African economies are characterized by slow economic diversification and persistent unemployment, especially among educated youth. Labour productivity has registered only a moderate increase compared with more dynamic emerging countries like India or Turkey. These patterns share a common origin, which lies in the existence of many distortions in the economy that prevent an efficient allocation of resources between firms and sectors. These…

A decade marked for accelerated action and delivery towards sustainable development has been disrupted by a global health threat that has severely impacted the Arab region. The focus now is on urgent action to save lives and repair livelihoods. This crisis is a stark reminder of why an efficient and effective public sector is the first line of defence in addressing systemic risks. This perilous pandemic is spreading through the Arab region at a…

Key messages：   1. Comprehensive public service capacity development: Governments must pay attention to developing the capacities of the public service and public servants; be it in their numbers, their competences, values, the protective gear they need, the incentives for their productivity, the tools and facilities as well as the technology they require to effectively do their jobs. Governments must invest in having very well-functioning…

The emergence and spread of the coronavirus in late 2019 and the impact of its disease, COVID-19, which has been categorized by the World Health Organization as a global pandemic, is, at the time of writing, ongoing.   Efforts by governments to try to control the pandemic’s spread while managing its wide-ranging impacts demonstrate the critical role of the relationship between state and people in shaping and determining government responses,…

National institutions are strongly impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19). The pandemic has disrupted to varying extents the regular functioning of state institutions, such as parliaments and justice systems, and affected key government functions and processes, undermining the effectiveness of government action. The need to respond quickly and with drastic measures has also created additional risks for institutional processes and organisations.…

The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing governments and societies to turn toward digital technologies to respond to the crisis in the short-term, resolve socio-economic repercussions in the mid-term and reinvent existing policies and tools in the long-term. Navigating through these challenging times requires governments to adopt an open government approach and to use digital communication channels to provide reliable information on global and national…