An upgraded version of the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies’ (IGES) SDG Interlinkages Analysis & Visualisation Tool (Version 3.0) is now available online for free. Updates to the tool mean it now offers wider country coverage, improved methodology, updated data, and an enhanced interface, among other new features.
Since 2015, IGES has developed the SDG Interlinkages Analysis & Visualisation Tool to support integrated SDG policymaking. It enables users to visualise the quantified causal links between SDG targets, identify potential synergies and trade-offs, and compare country progress and performance over time.
The SDGs and their relevant targets closely interact and complement each other, and in so doing constitute a complex network of interlinkages. Effective SDGs implementation therefore calls for a systems approach to seek and scale up the synergies and minimise the trade-offs for cross-sectoral integration and institutional collaboration. However, given the Goals’ expansive scope, and relatively short interim period since they were adopted in 2015, existing knowledge about these connections remains limited. IGES’ Strategic and Quantitative Analysis Centre has focused on analysing the synergies and trade-offs between SDG targets aimed at encouraging policy coherence and joint implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and therefore developed the SDG Interlinkages Analysis & Visualisation Tool.
The tool’s geographical coverage, which was expanded from 9 countries in the previous versions to 27 countries from Asia and Africa in the current iteration, is based on both IGES expertise and interest. The specific countries covered in these two regions are unique in that they face varying levels of socio-economic and environmental challenges, but also play an increasingly important role in the global economy. At the same time, focusing on a limited number of countries helps in conducting more in-depth studies. Results generated by the SDG Interlinkages Tool have already been used as inputs in SDG planning and priority setting in several countries. Similar research can be duplicated and extended to additional countries when the required data is available.
The SDG Interlinkages Analysis & Visualisation Tool and the results of SDG interlinkages analysis can serve as a practical means to support policy integration and coherence at the national as well as local levels in the following areas:
- SDG planning: Enable priority-setting based on analysis of the synergies and trade-offs, and identification of strategic targets from an interlinkage perspective.
- Institutional arrangement: Assist with review of the existing national institutional arrangement and provide recommendations to improve its effectiveness, based on a systems approach and SDG interlinkages.
- Financial resource allocation: Support efficient budget allocation by jointly addressing areas with strong synergies in order to avoid overlapping investments, as well as provide guidance on budget allocation to effectively address trade-offs. This is particularly important for developing countries and those least developed countries which face many financial constraints.
Monitoring and reporting: Help generate a set of effective core indicators based on the SDG interlinkages.
Documentation for the entire project, including the methodologies, reference materials, and publications, is available from the website hosting the SDG Interlinkages Analysis & Visualisation Tool (V3.0).
Link to theSDG Interlinkages Analysis & Visualisation Tool (Version 3.0)
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