Jack Cornforth and Farooq Ullah

1. Translating priority thematic areas into goals, targets and indicators and engaging in the intergovernmental process Jack Cornforth and Farooq Ullah

2. Part 1 Update on the SDGs Process

3. Sustainable Development Goals SDGs set to replace MDGs when they expire at end of 2015 What will this new set of global goals look like? At Rio+20 States agreed that they should be: • Action-oriented • Concise and easy to communicate • Limited in number • Aspirational • Global in nature and universally applicable to all countries while taking into account different national realities, capacities and levels of development and respecting national policies and priorities.

4. The Universality Dilemma What do we mean by ‘universal’? • SDG framework norms and principles are relevant to all nations, irrespective of economic, social or environmental contexts, so the goals will apply to all countries But global goals don’t easily translate to national contexts because of different, starting points, capacities, priorities etc. • So to be useful for all countries (and to create national ownership) global goals will be adapted into targets and indicators that reflect national contexts. Challenge: • Ensuring coherence between broad global goals and widely differing national contexts

5. Open Working Group on SDGs • Group of UN Member States currently working on a report proposing a set of SDGs, including targets and indicators • Recently published 19 focus areas the goals should address • Currently discussing possible goals and targets under each of these focus areas • Not yet discussing indicators

6. New Post-2015 Process • OWG report, along with other inputs exploring options for new global goals (HLP report, UNDG consultations, ICESDF report, etc.) to feed into UN Secretary-General’s synthesis report • This will be foundation for new intergovernmental process to agree Post-2015 Development Agenda • Starts in September 2014 • Culminates in global summit in 2015

7. Part 2 Exploring Sustainable Development Priorities

8. Group Activity List as many sustainable development thematic areas or issues they that are important in your country or region

9. OWG Focus Areas How do yours compare to the OWG’s 19 focus areas? Would you change your list as a consequence?

10. Prioritising Exercise Now try to choose a list of 10 priority areas When doing so you should consider: • Balancing the three dimensions of SD • Mutual benefits and trade-offs • Thematic areas that could address multiple issues • Prioritisation Vs combination

11. Part 3 Goals, targets and indicators

12. Goals, Targets and Indicators The OWG is expected to translate its 19 priority areas into: • A concise list of global goals (8-12) • A number of targets under each goal, likely to be set or chosen by national governments to best suit their individual needs and priorities • A set of indicators, likely to be common for all countries to enable comparability Goals, targets and indicators are commonly used terms in discussions on Post-2015, but are we be confident about they mean and would look like in practice?

13. Goal Definitions OWG:Expressesan ambitious, specific and actionable commitment (other characteristics listed earlier – e.g. action-oriented, concise, aspirational, etc.) HLP: As above, but adds that it should always start with a verb/action SDSN: an ambitious commitment that presents a single challenge with great impact. It should be universal, comprehensive, operational, and easy to understand

14. Target Definitions OWG: Specific, measurable objective whose attainment will contribute in major way to achieving one or more goals • Aspirational yet attainable • Evident link between target and goal • Speak to all relevant stakeholders • Nationally relevant, adaptable • Time-bound • Evidence-, science-based • Adjustable • as science advances • if countries choose to raise level of ambition

15. Target Definitions HLP: Quantified sub-components that will contribute in a major way to achievement of goal. Should be an outcome variable. Specifies level of ambition of each country; may be universal in specific circumstances. SDSN: A specific, measurable, attainable, time-bound outcome that contributes to the achievement of a goal. It should be defined at global and national levels to reflect each country’s ambitions and capacities

16. Indicator Definitions OWG: Not yet discussing indicators HLP: Precise metric from identified databases to assess if target is being met (often multiple indicators are used) SDSN: A meaningful, simple, and quantifiable metric used to assess progress toward meeting a target. It should be easily and quickly measurable and should allow for disaggregation

17. Example GTIs Goal: Ensure Effective Learning for All Children and Youth for Life and Livelihood (SDSN)

18. Part 4 Defining and Prioritising Targets

19. The Integrating Approach Initially focusing on targets, rather than goals This “bottom-up” approach: • Asserts that priority goals will be easier (and quicker) to establish if you focus on the targets first … • Enables the granularity of interlinkages to emerge, therefore making eventual goals more effective • Means that discussions will not be boxed into sector perspectives from the outset • Provides a key entry point for other constituencies, e.g. private sector, to recommend specific targets

20. Key Considerations for Target Setting • Ensuring that they are well designed and well-defined targets • Methodologically select and prioritise possible target options • Think about implementation and measurement considerations

21. Criteria for designing well-defined targets • Quantitative: aims for a specific value (numeric, rate of change or absolute – e.g. ‘zero goals’) • Time-bound: specifies the year of attainment (preferably uniform across targets, and with a common baseline year) • Ambitious: aspires to a greater improvement than what would otherwise be expected in the absence of the development agenda • Attainable: does not suppose unrealistic progress in the time allotted • Policy relevant: has a clear relationship to the goal(s) to which it contributes – and results or trends can inform policy responses

22. Criteria for selecting and prioritising possible targets • Transformational: achieving the target is an essential “must have” to meeting one or more goals • Supports multiple dimensions of sustainable development: clearly links to the three dimensions of sustainable development (economic, social, environmental), and potentially can support achievement of more than one goal • Results-oriented: aims for an outcome, not an input or output (e.g. literacy rate compared to years spent in school) • Reflects existing commitments: incorporates and is otherwise consistent with current international agreements (e.g. Convention on Biodiversity or Hyogo Framework for Action) as appropriate

23. Implementation and measurement considerations • Disaggregated (or able to be disaggregated) amongst sub-groups: information on a target could be assessed by gender, race, ethnicity or other divisions to ensure that progress is shared evenly • Defined (or able to be defined) at the country level: can be specific to a location or tailored to local circumstances • Based on available data: sources of information are known and data can be collected to assess progress, taking into account varying technical capacities • Incorporating new data: leverages advances in metrics and data collection technologies • Comparable to a baseline: the starting point is known and defined • Assessed globally: data from many countries can be aggregated to assess global progress • Cost-effective: costs do not outweigh benefits of collecting needed data

24. Part 5 Measuring what Matters and Engaging

25. A Data Revolution? • MDGs saw huge increase in data quantity and quality • But many gaps remain • Momentum for a ‘data revolution’ • To provide new quantitative and qualitative data • But requires political will and accelerated action, • And must empower all stakeholders

26. Disaggregated Data Much support for universality withincountries: • SDGs should address national-level inequalities • Account for the poorest and most marginalised to ensure ‘no one is left behind’ Using disaggregated indicators to distinguish between different societal groups EG by: • Wealth quintiles • Geographical location • Sex But is there sufficient capacity and resources to do this?

27. Exercise - Using Indicators in Practice • What sub-categories would you disaggregate this indicator into to make it meaningful and to help ensure that ‘no one is left behind’? • What do you perceive to be the barriers/challenges to collecting this information and processing/using the data so it is useful for policy makers?

28. Other Discussions on Targets and Measurement What other forums than the OWG are currently discussing target setting and monitoring progress? • Friends of the Chair Group on Broader Measures of Progress (FOC) • Sustainable development Solutions Network ‘Indicators for SDGs’ • Stakeholder-led initiatives, e.g.: • Independent Research Forum (IRF2015) • Thematic clusters (UN MGs) • Beyond 2015 • Measure What Matters

29. Recommendations for further engagement • Identify who is leading on post-2015 in your capital • Become involved in/start inter-departmental conversations on Post-2015 and SDGs • Are ‘key’ departments aware of these discussions and what they will likely mean for their work (budgeting, planning, monitoring etc)? • Contact/connect with your UN Mission in NY • Engage in round two of UN DG consultations on implementation • Participate in stakeholder-led initiatives (e.g. Measure What Matters campaign)

30. Do you have any remaining questions or comments regarding anything we have discussed today?

31. Thank you!www.sustainabledevelopment2015.orgwww.stakeholderforum.orge-mail: jcornforth@stakeholderforum.orgfullah@stakeholderforum.org