First Drafting Session of the Outcome Document of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development inal week for comments on SDSN “Indicators and a Monitoring Framework for the SDGs” draft report

The following has been received from SDSN:

The Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) is current holding a global consultation on “Indicators and a Monitoring Framework for the SDGs.”  This draft report presents a comprehensive indicator framework for the UN Open Working Group goals and outlines major indicator gaps that must be filled over the next twelve months.

This public consultation will run until 31 January. We seek expert input to improve the framework, fill gaps, and consider the widest possible evidence. Please submit all comments via the web form.

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SDSN launches new global consultation on SDG Indicators report

Today the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) is launching a new global consultation on “Indicators and a Monitoring Framework for the SDGs.” This draft report presents a comprehensive indicator framework for the UN Open Working Group goals and outlines major indicator gaps that must be filled over the next twelve months. The draft incorporates comments from hundreds of organizations and has been prepared in consultation with the UN Statistics Division.

The new consultation will run from January 16 - 31. We seek expert input to improve the framework, fill gaps, and consider the widest possible evidence. Please submit all comments via the webform on our website.

Submit your input!        

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SDSN's Financing for Sustainable Development report open for public consultation until January 15

The  Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) has launched a draft report entitled “Financing Sustainable Development: Implementing the SDGs through Effective Investment Strategies and Partnerships,” open for public consultation through January 10, 2015. 

At the request of the Government of Ethiopia, the SDSN is leading a Global Finance for Sustainable Development Group to provide recommendations to the Financing for Development Conference in Addis Ababa in July 2015.

Read the full report and submit your comments at http://unsdsn.org/resources/publications/financing-for-sustainable-development/

Indicators — where are we now and next steps

Written by Katrin Erlingsen, Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung (DSW) 

The SDSN has published a new report on indicators. They are suggesting 100 indicators to monitor the goals and targets as outlined in the OWG report. In addition they are suggesting complementary national indicators which countries can choose to include in their monitoring. “These would be applicable to some countries only, such as indicators for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs); would give countries greater scope in applying complex concepts, such as inequality, to their specific needs; and/or allow for greater  specificity on issues of national concern. The Complementary National Indicators represent a menu of options for countries to choose from, though the list we include is far from exhaustive.” (page 7). 

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Sustainable Development Solutions Network “Indicators and a monitoring framework for Sustainable Development Goals”

The Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) has revised the working draft of its report on Indicators and a monitoring framework for Sustainable Development Goal” to align it with the draft Sustainable Development Goals as developed by the Open Working Group (OWG). The SDSN plans to engage with experts and statistical institutions to strengthen the indicator framework and fill some of the gaps as highlighted in the draft report. The SDSN welcomes comments on the ideas outlined in the draft report, which should be sent to info@unsdsn.org  

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Sustainable Development Solutions Network revised working draft of “Indicators for Sustainable Development Goals”

The revised working draft of the “Indicators for Sustainable Development Goals” of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) is now available on their revised website. It includes goals, targets and indicators.

On sexual and reproductive health and rights: It should be noted that the language has been standardized to refer to “health and rights”. In response to some comments (including those from various civil society networks and organizations) that have called for strengthening the focus on sexual and reproductive health and rights over the discussion of fertility rates and to avoid any misunderstandings about the need for voluntary approaches to reducing fertility rates, the SDSN Leadership Council has simplified the language of target 2c and rearranged the indicators.

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Population Dynamics and the Open Working Group

As you may recall, population dynamics was included in the thematic consultations in preparation for the post-2015 development agenda in 2013, with the discussions focusing particularly on migration, urbanization, young people and the elderly. The Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development Goals, moreover, has included population dynamics in its deliberations under Focus Area 3: Health and Population Dynamics. Although there was a call by some members of the OWG to move the topic to other focus areas, such as economic growth, employment and infrastructure or sustainable cities and human settlements, it remains in Focus Area 3. In this session of the OWG-11, however, not a lot of attention has been paid to issues related to population dynamics, with the exception of migration.

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Call for Proposals — 2nd Annual international Conference on Sustainable Development Practice on ‘Advancing Evidence-Based Solutions for the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda

The following message has been received from Guido Schmidt-Traub of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN):

The Global Association of Master's in Development Practice Programs (MDP), in collaboration with the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), will hold the Second Annual International Conference on Sustainable Development Practice (ICSDP) on September 17-18, 2014 at Columbia University in New York City.

The Conference theme, Advancing Evidence-Based Solutions for the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda, seeks proposals for practical solutions to address the complex challenges of sustainable development at local, regional, and global levels.

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Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) seeks civil society comments on its new report on Indicators for Sustainable Development Goals

The Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), operating under the direction of Jeffrey Sachs, last year proposed a framework of 10 goals, each with three targets, for the post-2015 development framework.  The SDSN Leadership Council’s released its recommendations in June 2013 and you can review the report at  An Action Agenda for Sustainable Development. On February 14, 2014 they released a new publication of 100 indicators for sustainable development in a new draft report for public consultation: Indicators for Sustainable Development Goals.

They noted in their distribution of the new report: “The public consultation will run from 14 February to 14 March 2014. Full details are available here. Please use the comment form and send it by email to info@unsdsn.org. Please focus your comments on the proposed indicators, as the goals and targets have already undergone an extensive public consultation.

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Comments on SDSN draft report on Indicators for Sustainable Development Goals

(from Stan Bernstein and supported by Commonwealth Medical Trust (Commat))

From the perspective of the SRHR community, the SDSN recommendations leave much to be desired. Sexual and reproductive health are included in several places but with formulations that do not give it much priority or coherence. For example, the realization of sexual and reproductive health rights are seen as instrumental to voluntary fertility decline “in countries above [3] children per woman” and relevant for the continuation of voluntary fertility reduction in countries above replacement level fertility in their statement of Target 2c. This does not capture the breadth of SRH concerns and the universality of rights in this area (especially to make voluntary and informed choices about the number, timing and spacing of one’s children) independent of fertility levels. SRH is also recognized as a component of “universal coverage of quality health care”. Other elements of women’s empowerment (including gender based violence) and health (maternal mortality ratios and rates) are included elsewhere and some links to other elements of economic and social development and environmental sustainability are noted. But there is a diminution of status relative to the independent MDG target 5B. However, the goal and target levels are considered to be frozen. (Comments/complaints are unlikely to be productive, but may be useful to stake a claim against that freeze in later discussions.)

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