Author: Deirdre de Burca
The international community marked the second anniversary of the adoption of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development in September 2017. Civil society also mobilized around the anniversary, in particular on the Global Day of Action on September 25th (See actions showcased at http://act4sdgs.org/home-page/) The global mobilization that took place was an opportunity for civil society and other stakeholders to express their impatience with what is perceived to be the slow pace of implementation of this ambitious global agenda.
To a large extent governments were the legitimate targets of this frustration. However, civil society and other stakeholders also need to reflect on how they can increase their capacities in line with their strong ambition to respond effectively to the ongoing monitoring and implementation requirements of Agenda 2030.
For example, an innovative and exciting feature of the Agenda 2030 is the emphasis placed upon a “multi- stakeholder approach” as a major means of implementation of this new global agenda. This will require strong collaborative partnerships between governments, civil society, private sector and other key stakeholders. Different skills and capacities will need to be developed within, and between these sectors.
Goal 17 of the Agenda 2030 addresses the issue of capacity development in the context of a “Global Partnership for Sustainable Development”. The IFP, which is a global civil society network of 6 regional coalitions and 64 national platforms, has called upon the international political community to plan for, and fully resource a coordinated global approach to the capacity development of civil society for Agenda 2030 implementation.
We believe that capacity development of CSOs spans much more than narrow skills training. and includes, amongst other areas, creating and maintaining complex networking systems to enable effective collaboration with multiple stakeholders; effective engagement with citizens; the management of accountability, transparency and effectiveness, increased leadership development for more effective planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of development interventions, and the ability to influence public policy-making. IFP believes that the capacity development of CSOs linked to Agenda 2030 should build on the existing capacities of CSOs, and recognize, value and utilize their local knowledge from the outset.
Where Agenda 2030 is concerned, IFP and the Irish development platform, Dochas, carried out a joint pilot survey of the capacity development needs of their members between April and July 2017 in advance of the HLPF.. (https://dochas.typeform.com/to/mXYmZW).
The survey results revealed that:
- 89 % of responding organisations were interested in engaging in capacity development aimed at increasing their staff member’s knowledge and awareness of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.
- 76% of responding organisations were interested in capacity development to plan their own Agenda 2030 implementation strategies.
- 83% of respondents were interested in capacity development to strengthen their ability to politically engage with state actors (government, parliaments, local authorities) and other stakeholders (private sector, academia) on Agenda 2030implementation
- 77% of responding organisations were interested in capacity development linked to public awareness-raising, campaigning & social media skills for effectively communicating the Agenda 2030 to the public in local and national contexts.
- 79% of responding organisations would welcome capacity development in the areas of data gathering, analysis, interpretation and presentation linked to Agenda 2030 monitoring and reviewing activities.
- 83% of organisations were interested in capacity development to bring about changes in their own organisational behaviour and practices, to become better role models of sustainable development.
- 80% of responding organisations were interested in capacity development aimed at developing their ability to identify, develop and maintain partnerships as part of future Agenda 2030 related multi-stakeholder partnerships.
At the HLPF in July 2017 the IFP published its major advocacy proposal for the establishment of a Global Fund for the capacity development of CSOs linked to SDG implementation : “Developing the capacities of civil society for a successful implementation of the 2030 Agenda”
It called for the Global Fund to form part of new global mechanisms put in place by the international community to operationalise Goal 17 of the SDGs. This should be a dedicated funding stream for the capacity development of civil society globally, to enhance its ability to contribute to a wider multi-stakeholder approach to SDG implementation.
The capacity development activities supported by the fund should enable and strengthen civil society’s participation in all aspects of national- level VNR processes. It should support the capacity development of CSOs to engage in SDG -related policy and advocacy, monitoring and accountability, campaigning and public outreach and innovation.
Finally, many worrying political trends internationally, including the return of nationalist discourse and growing restrictions to fundamental freedoms, are creating environments which are increasingly hostile to civil society both domestically and globally. The IFP believes that advantage must be taken of the opportunities presented by the implementation of Agenda 2030 to strengthen civil society globally by developing its capacities, in order to enable it to respond collectively to the diverse challenges it faces.
We believe that properly resourced capacity development for CSOs globally has the potential to be an important element of a badly-needed, overall strengthening of the sector, and should make an important contribution to accelerating the pace of implementation of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development. It is important now that civil society makes a strong advocacy case for its own capacity development globally, and this advocacy should target the UN system, progressive governments and other influential international actors.
DISCLAIMER. The views expressed in this blog are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Together 2030 Initiative and its members.
About the author: Deirdre de Burca currently works as the Advocacy Co-ordinator of the International Forum for National NGO platforms. IFP is a global network of 64 national development platforms and 6 regional coalitions. Deirdre previously worked as Director of Advocacy for World Vision’s Brussels office. She was also a member of the EU Steering Committee of Concord’s Beyond 2015 EU Taskforce which played an important role in influencing the position of the EU and its Member States during the UN negotiations on Agenda 2030. Deirdre was also a founding member of SDG Watch Europe -a broad alliance of European civil society organisations established in June 2015 and which works to ensure the full implementation of Agenda 2030/the SDGs by the EU and its Member States,(www.sdgwatcheurope.org)
Together 2030 (www.together2030.org) is a civil society initiative that promotes national implementation and tracks progress of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Initiative, set up in December 2015, seeks to generate knowledge and project voices from civil society and stakeholders around the world on the challenges and opportunities for the 2030 Agenda. Together 2030 brings together civil society and non-governmental actors to discuss the way to formulate and implement roadmaps at national level and hold governments to account at all levels. As of November 2017, 570 organizations have joined Together 2030 from more than 100 countries. 72% of which are based in the Global South.
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