Using data from a survey we conducted in collaboration with the Association of Flemish Cities and Municipalities (VVSG), this article sought to examine the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the implementation of SDGs by Flemish local governments (cities and municipalities). Identifying such effects has usually been conducted on individuals and at a macro level and not at the organization and local government level. By using a counterfactual approach, we were able to disentangle various COVID-19 effects over time and learn how systems at the local level react to external shocks. The approach allowed us to single out the effects of the pandemic at the organizational level while looking into three distinct periods: before the pandemic, during the pandemic, and in its aftermath. Results showed that the COVID-19 pandemic slowed down the Flemish public sector’s implementation of SDGs at the local level. At the same time, COVID-19 allowed local public institutions to accelerate the implementation of a few SDGs (e.g., SDG1, SDG3) and to postpone a few SDG-related activities which would be resumed once the pandemic is ‘over’. COVID-19 is not only a challenge; it acts as a wake-up call and an opportunity to commit more towards the implementation of (certain) SDGs.
We live in a world full of global challenges, such as global warming, the COVID-19 pandemic, and only recently the Russia-Ukraine crisis, all of which confirm that we live in a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) world. Most of these challenges are considered to be wicked problems. For many decades, wicked problems have been viewed as difficult, even impossible to solve. This chapter examines how institutions can navigate the VUCA world through investing in SDG so as to solve wicked problems. The chapter argues that adopting socially responsible investment as a strategy allows both private and public organizations to improve economic, social, and environmental performance; and is a fine way of investing in SDG, which could be a long-term solution to wicked problems. Using a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), the chapter examines the relationship between SDG investment and climate change solutions at the local level. Results show a significant effect of investment in SDGs on a solution to wicked problems like climate change. The chapter concludes that the difficulty or impossibility of solving global challenges is likely to be caused by a lack of investment in the SDGs.
Today, throughout Africa, many people are afflicted by acute misery and persistent hunger. Thousands of innocent children among them die each year from lack of food and medical attention. Others cannot afford to go to school. These lacks are a reflection of the many “unfreedoms” afflicting people in Africa. I argue that the key to ending these people's extreme poverty is to remove all sorts of “unfreedoms” due inter alia to nepotism, corruption, unfair international systems, greed and consumerism, all of which seem to be a consequence of selfishness. To achieve that, leaders and others involved in development need certain ethical standards. They need to transcend selfishness, a me‐centered‐ethics that encourages utility maximization, and bear in mind that the other person also needs to develop. Using the examples of Rwanda and Zimbabwe, I show how African leaders need a certain amount of ethical standards if they are to alleviate poverty. This ethics‐of‐duty‐towards‐other‐people as I call it may be achieved through education and putting up strong legal structures.
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