Increased systems thinking capacity—that is, the capacity to consider systemic effects of policies and actions—is necessary for translating knowledge on Sustainable Development Goals’ (SDGs) interactions into practice. Various models and tools that seek to support more evidence-based policy-making have been developed with the purpose of exploring system effects across SDGs. However, these often lack integration of behavioral aspects and contextual factors that influence the decision-making process. We analyze three applications of a decision-support approach called SDG Synergies, which aims at building capacity in systems thinking among decision-makers and implementing agencies. Our objective is to explore how behavior and context influences whether and how knowledge is taken up and acted upon when making decisions. Drawing on empirical material from Mongolia, Colombia, and Sri Lanka, we identify three sets of mechanisms that appear important for enabling more systemic thinking: system boundaries (time, scale, and space), rules of engagement (ownership, representation, and purpose), and biases (confirmation biases and participation biases). Results highlight some key challenges for systemic thinking that merit further attention in future applications, including the importance of localizing SDGs and incorporating this knowledge to national-level assessments, an unwillingness of stakeholders to acknowledge trade-offs, the challenge of addressing transformational as opposed to incremental change, and striking a balance between the flexibility of the approach vis-à-vis scientific robustness.
Interlinkages, Integration and Coherence lead authors ma ˚ns nilsson and marjanneke j. vijge contributing authors ivonne lobos alva, basil bornemann, karin fernando, thomas hickmann, michelle scobie and sabine weilandThe 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development represents a novel approach to global sustainability governance. It goes beyond the earlier Millennium Development Goals in that it envisions a global transformation for economic prosperity, human well-being and planetary health (UNGA 2015). The breadth of this agenda, however, creates novel challenges of policy interlinkages and goal integration. The 2030 Agenda emphasizes that 'interlinkages and the integrated nature of the Sustainable Development Goals' are crucial for its success (UNGA 2015: 2). Also, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals were officially designed as an 'integrated and indivisible' set, and every goal has to be met equally to attain sustainable development (UNGA 2015: 1). In short, integration is a leitmotif of the 2030 Agenda (Nilsson and Persson 2017).The integrated nature of the goals, however, increases complexity in policymaking, because it implies that the implementation of the goals must consider the interactions among them. Progress or lack of progress with one goal will affect other goals, some positively and others negatively, creating synergies and tradeoffs (Nilsson and Weitz 2019). Institutional integration and policy coherence hence become central in addressing normative conflicts, fragmentation and policy complexity across the goals. The challenge is embodied as part of Goal 17, which calls upon governments and other actors to enhance policy coordination and policy coherence for sustainable development (UNGA 2015: Targets 17.13-17.14).Institutional integration and policy coherence have thus become central concerns in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, in national and global governance. At the national level, most governments acknowledge the need to consider synergies and trade-offs in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals. At the global level, there is growing recognition that governments need better capacities, tools and resources to address the interlinkages, synergies and trade-offs between goals. Many international organizations have produced guidance documents and tools to support governments, including the United 92
Localization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) refers to the process of defining, implementing, and monitoring strategies at the local level to achieve global, national, and subnational sustainable development goals and targets. The key question addressed by this baseline document is how SDG localization can be practically, efficiently, and effectively implemented in what remains of the Decade of Action.
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