Staying on track with the Sustainable Development Goals- What evaluation can teach us
What IEG has learned about the Sustainable Development Goals through evaluating the World Bank Group’s work.
What IEG has learned about the Sustainable Development Goals through evaluating the World Bank Group’s work.
We must take a holistic look at SDGs to create positive synergies rather than negative tradeoffs
Country ownership is critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals
Meeting the SDGs requires realistic national medium and long-term targets and programs.
When the global development community gathers this week for the UN General Assembly, they will have their hands full as they try to get through an extremely ambitious agenda. Over the course of the week, world leaders will cover a range of topics, including advancing sustained economic growth and sustainable development; a special focus on Africa; maintaining international peace and security; promotion of human rights; drug control, crime prevention and combating international terrorism.
Alongside the formal agenda, organizers are hosting a series of special week-long events to draw attention to the sustainable development goals and the fight against Climate Change.
Watching the buzz leading in to these meetings, it’s been striking to hear strong voices advocating for one issue or another. Take, for example, the debate over which SDG is most important or what targets to track and measure. Should we prioritize poverty eradication over gender equality? Or susatainable energy and climate change over quality education and clean water for all? The reality, as many renowned development experts and evaluators have pointed out is that the international community will need to take a holistic look at the SDGs to ensure was achieve them in ways that create positive synergies rather than negative tradeoffs. This is a challenging task, not just for the number of targets, but also because some of them necessitate thoughtful decisions to make the right tradeoffs.
As independent evaluators, we often run into the same issues when evaluating the World Bank Group’s operations. Like the United Nations and the rest of the development community, the WBG's mandate spans many, if not all, of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The international community will need to take a holistic look at the SDGs to ensure we achieve them in ways that create positive synergies rather than negative tradeoffs. This is a challenging task, not just for the number of targets, but also because some of them necessitate thoughtful decisions to make the right tradeoffs.
So what have we have learned from evaluating the World Bank Group’s work that might be relevant for the SDGs? In a synthesis paper, Transforming Our World - Aiming to Sustain Development, prepared at the time the SDGs were launched, we reflected on the lessons learned from the earlier Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the opportunities of the future. Among the many lessons we identified, I would like to highlight three.
Interested in digging deeper? Below are some of our recent evaluations relating to the different SDGs.
SDG 1. No Poverty
Supporting Transformational Change for Poverty Reduction and Shared Prosperity
World Bank Group Engagement in Small States
The Poverty Focus of Country Programs
World Bank Group Assistance to Low-Income Fragile and Conflict-Affected States
SDG 2. Zero Hunger
The World Bank Group and the Global Food Crisis
Lessons from Land Administration Projects: A Review of Project Performance Assessments
Impact Evaluations in Agriculture
Growth and Productivity in Agriculture and Agribusiness
SDG 3. Good Health and Well-being
World Bank Group Support to Health Financing
Later Impacts of Early Childhood Interventions: A systematic Review
Delivering the Millennium Development Goals to Reduce Maternal and Child Mortality
Improving Effectiveness and Outcomes for the Poor in Health, Nutrition, and Population
World Bank Support to Early Childhood Development
SDG 4. Quality Education
World Bank Support to Education Since 2001
SDG 5. Gender Equality
Women’s Empowerment in Rural Community-Driven Development Projects
Social Safety Nets and Gender: Learning from Impact Evaluations and World Bank Projects
SDG 6. Clean Water and Sanitation
Global Program Review: Global Water Partnership
SDG 7. Affordable and Clean Energy
World Bank Group Support to Electricity Access
SDG 8. Decent Work and Economic Growth
Industry Competitiveness and Jobs
The Big Business of Small Enterprises – An Evaluation of World Bank Group Support to SMEs
SDG 9. Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
Capturing Technology for Development
Using Knowledge for Better Development Results
World Bank Group Support for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
SDG 10. Reduced Inequalities
The Poverty Focus of Country Programs
World Bank Group Assistance to Low-Income Fragile and Conflict-Affected States
SDG 11. Sustainable Cities
and Communities
Mobile Metropolises – An IEG Evaluation of the World Bank Group’s Support for Urban Transport (coming soon)
Improving Urban Transport: 5 Lessons from Senegal
SDG 12. Responsible Consumption
and Production
Supporting Transformational Change for Poverty Reduction and Shared Prosperity
SDG 13. Climate Action
Climate Change and the World Bank Group: Win-Win Energy Policy Reforms - Phase I
Challenge of Low-Carbon Development: Climate Change and World Bank Group - Phase II
Lessons from Environmental Policy Lending
SDG 14. Life Below Water
SDG 15. Life on Land
Growth and Productivity in Agriculture and Agribusiness
Managing Forest Resources for Sustainable Development
Global Program Review: Forest Carbon Partnership
SDG 16. Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
World Bank Group Engagement in Small States
World Bank Group Engagement in Situations of Fragility, Conflict, and Violence
World Bank Group Assistance to Low-Income Fragile and Conflict-Affected States
World Bank Country-Level Engagement on Governance and Anticorruption
SDG 17. Partnerships for
the Goals
Global Program Review: The World Bank's Partnership with the GAVI Alliance
Global Program Review: The Global Fund to Fight AIDs, Tuberculosis and Malaria
Global Program Review: Global Water Partnership
Global Program Review: Forest Carbon Partnership
The World Bank Group’s Partnership with the Global Environment Facility
Comments
Interesting insights! It is…
Interesting insights! It is indeed true that countries need to think globally rather than nationally when trying to achieve the SDGs. We have compiled a list of companies and organizations that are successfully aligning their business with SDGs, particularly health care and well-being, you might wanna check it out.
https://www.valuer.ai/blog/aligning-business-with-sdg-3-by-collaboratin…
Well done!
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