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A development cooperation mechanism for a sustainable world post-2015

The Sustainable Development Goals Fund (SDG Fund) is a new cooperation mechanism that supports integrated and multidimensional joint programmes.

It looks to the MDG Achievement Fund, its precursor, as a basis for what works.

Coordination, ownership and multidimensionality

The SDG Fund combines 3 elements for sustainable development gains:

  • National ownership. Development cooperation needs to be people-centric and respond to national priorities. SDG Fund governance mechanisms ensure the full participation of national government and partners at the local, national, and global level. These principles may seem straightforward, but for a long time development aid policy-makers have been discussing how to put them into practice. Indeed, when the MDG-F was established in 2007, it was the first development mechanism in which specifically converged three landmark development aid agreements: the Millennium Declaration (2000), the Paris Declaration on aid effectiveness (2005) and the UN General Assembly Resolution on System-wide Coherence (2008). Learn more here.
  • UN agencies coordination. The SDG Fund only conducts joint programmes. Various specialized agencies of the UN coordinate with each other and their national partners to create integrated responses to issues. This approach is also known as "Delivering as One." Learn more here.
  • Multidimensionality. Poverty is multidimensional and requires multi-faceted, integrated, and holistic approaches. Learn more here.

For example, in the case of nutrition and food security, by bringing together the expertise of various development partners, our programmes put in place multi-sectorial approaches that include important issues such as nutritional education, gender equality and empowerment of women, agricultural production and health, among others.

Improved for post-2015: operational performance, sustainability and multi stakeholder engagement

In 2014, this innovative development cooperation mechanism was intensively assessed, studied and evaluated. The new development cooperation mechanism keeps key aspects of the MDG-F and incorporates the following improvements:

  • Sustainability, or environmental sustainability and long-term sustainability of results. The co-financing of joint programmes through matching funds increases programme impact.  Additional funds that come from national governments boosts national ownership and sustainability.
  • Enhanced operational performance, with increased accountability and transparency. All the SDG Fund activities can be monitored through the MPTF web site. Also, operational systems like monitoring and evaluation have been simplified.
  • Multi-stakeholder engagement. A sustainable world requires collective global responses. UN agencies are only a part of it. Non-traditional partners,  especially from the private sector, are essential. The SDG Fund is an open platform that other partners can join to advance the SDGs.