- English
- Calls to leverage “synergies” to accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have increased sharply over the past decade.
- This rising interest stems from the belief that synergies can lower costs and build support for integrated solutions to planetary crises.
- Policymakers have nonetheless been slow to incorporate synergies in relevant policy decisions.
- This lag partially reflects research that focuses more on modelling possible cross-issues links than analysing what actually motivates policymakers to cooperate in related decision-making processes.
- This discussion paper argues that more attention is needed on how three mutually reinforcing areas can strengthen motivations for cooperating on synergies:
- Institutional and administrative reforms: interagency coordination mechanisms, cross-sectoral staffing rotations and harmonised reporting protocols;
- Political-economic coalitions: organised around uniting environmental groups with religious organisations, technological entrepreneurs, agricultural cooperatives, labour unions, youth organisers and local governments; and
- Financial and budgeting incentives: strategic co-financing, multi-impact investment proposal assessments and targeted block grants.
- Featuring synergies in a means of implementation (MOI) goal and including synergies language in framing text under a possible Post-2030 Sustainable Development Agenda could reinforce the above recommendations.
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