To support the international community and OECD Member and Partner countries in the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the OECD Council adopted the OECD Action Plan on the Sustainable Development Goals (OECD, 2016[1]) in December 2016. The 2016 Action Plan outlined concrete support for Members and the international community in achieving the SDGs, with efforts that are demand-driven and involve strengthened collaboration with other international organisations to enhance effectiveness and avoid redundancy. The 2016 Action Plan aimed to: i) support countries to identify where they currently stand in relation to the SDGs and where they need to be, and to propose sustainable pathways based on evidence; ii) reaffirm the OECD's role as a leading source of expertise, data, and good practices and standards in economic, social, and environmental areas of public policy relevant to the SDGs; and iii) encourage a "race to the top" for better and more coherent policies that can help deliver the SDGs through hallmark OECD approaches, including peer reviews and learning, monitoring and statistical reporting, policy dialogue, and soft law. With these objectives in mind, the 2016 Action Plan identified the following strengths and assets as well as key action areas in relation to the 2030 Agenda:
OECD strengths and assets in relation to the 2030 Agenda as set out in the 2016 Action Plan
Assessing economic, social, and environmental progress through measures going beyond GDP. In several SDG areas, the OECD is a source of internationally accepted measures (e.g. data on official development assistance; education data; development effectiveness indicators).
Generating solid evidence and recommendations on global public goods and "bads" as well as relevant national efforts, with a focus on OECD countries and Key Partners. This includes cutting-edge analysis and publications on, for example, climate policies, development finance, human trafficking, responsible business conduct, and fiscal transparency.
Measuring and improving development finance by helping governments mobilise the broad suite of financial resources that will be necessary to achieve the SDGs (taxes, foreign and domestic investments, remittances, aid and philanthropy).
Enhancing policy and institutional coherence by identifying policy interactions, trade-offs, and synergies across economic, social, and environmental areas; and considering trans-boundary and intergenerational effects, in line with the OECD’s New Approaches to Economic Challenges (NAEC) initiative and the Inclusive Growth and Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development initiatives, which enable a truly integrated and multidisciplinary approach to global progress.
Dismantling intellectual and policy silos to offer integrated diagnostics and policy advice to both Member and Partner countries. The OECD’s Strategy on Development [C/MIN(2012)6] has mainstreamed developing country issues across the OECD and will guide future efforts.
Facilitating the exchange of knowledge and data across countries through global fora, expert groups, peer review mechanisms, inclusive partnerships, and open data platforms, which continue to expand to cover more countries.
Supporting sector-specific initiatives and partnerships to help more countries achieve specific Goals and strengthen their capacities, without conditionality. With few OECD tools being legally binding, progress is instead promoted through mechanisms that encourage peer learning and accountability, creating a fertile testing ground for ideas and innovative policy approaches.
Four areas for OECD action and specific actions to support them as set out in the 2016 Action Plan
1. Apply an SDG lens to the OECD's strategies and policy tools
Consider the SDGs in OECD Economic Surveys at the request of interested countries and explore approaches to addressing the SDGs in OECD Economic Outlooks. These efforts build on existing initiatives such as Going for Growth, which increasingly capture multi-dimensional well-being and, where relevant, environmental dimensions.
Gradually integrate the SDG framework into other OECD reviews at the request of interested countries and in collaboration with substantive committees, including reviews of agricultural, market and competition policies, labour markets, social policy, open government reforms, gender equality, education, environmental performance, health, and development co-operation.
Deepen efforts to support all countries in the implementation of the tax Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) initiative. Specific actions include the creation of an inclusive framework open to all countries and jurisdictions on an equal footing; the development of BEPS toolkits to support developing countries as they address high-priority BEPS challenges; and support for capacity development through the Tax Inspectors Without Borders initiative.
Assist countries as they implement global standards for the exchange of information for tax purposes, building on the work of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, which has over 130 members. This includes a specific initiative to support African countries.
Further strengthen support to governments as they mobilise a broad range of financial resources – aid, taxes, both foreign and domestic investments, remittances and philanthropy – required to achieve the SDGs, in line with the 2015 Addis Ababa Action Agenda. This includes continued efforts to incentivise additional and better-quality resources for developing countries, especially those most in need.
Support the development and implementation of policy actions to reverse the declining trend of Official Development Assistance (ODA) to countries most in need.
Promote fuller use of blended finance operations and philanthropic flows through the dissemination of good practices and targeted guidance.
Deepen our work on responsible business conduct, working with governments and other stakeholders to promote national-level implementation of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and related guidance on responsible supply chains.
Disseminate the updated OECD Policy Framework on Investment (PFI), which helps countries to improve their investment climates and, in so doing, encourages private sector-led sustainable development. Provide further consideration of methodologies and indicators based on the PFI.
Support market opening by bringing evidence to bear on the benefits of multilateral, plurilateral and regional efforts, and trade facilitation initiatives. Further promote Aid for Trade, enriching existing work with new insights on services and trade facilitation.
Support countries as they scale up and enhance the impact of climate change adaptation finance by promoting peer learning and evidence-based analysis of projects and programmes delivering results, including in the development co-operation arena.
Promote the effective design and management of marine protected areas by undertaking cost-benefit analysis, supporting monitoring and enforcement efforts, and efforts to scale up finance.
Promote effective policies and management of ecosystems to achieve targets on terrestrial ecosystems, forests and biodiversity, and climate change, and to ensure that ecosystem service values are reflected in national and sectoral development strategies and policies.
2. Leverage OECD data to help analyse progress in SDG implementation
Continue to contribute to the development and enhancement of the UN-led Global Indicator Framework for the SDGs, drawing on existing OECD expertise, and help close data gaps by developing methodologies and capacities in support of the internationally agreed SDG monitoring and evaluation initiatives.
Build on existing pilot efforts to help interested OECD Members assess their SDG starting positions and progress, drawing on relevant OECD data. The extent to which countries’ policies help or hinder the achievement of the SDGs globally will also be explored.
Support developing countries as they address data gaps, particularly leveraging opportunities arising from “the data revolution” including big data and public-private partnerships. Develop inventories, tools, guidelines, standards and protocols through active collaboration with the OECD-hosted Partnership in Statistics for Development in the 21st Century (PARIS21).
Broaden the reach and relevance of the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), building on the eight-country PISA for Development pilot, which strengthens the evidence base available to countries on education and learning outcomes.
Modernise development finance statistics through an inclusive process to promote uniform reporting that is credible and relevant, capturing new and more complex financing instruments and arrangements, and creating appropriate incentives for resource mobilisation. The new measure of Total Official Support for Sustainable Development (TOSSD) will increase the transparency of public efforts to support sustainable development.
Contribute data and analysis, as a Member of the Inter-Agency Task Force, to global reports on progress in the implementation of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development.
Develop and expand the OECD’s Revenue Statistics work, which provides comparable data on fiscal revenues for 66 countries.
Put OECD expertise at the disposal of countries as they develop policies to facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people. These efforts will build on long-standing OECD work analysing migration flows and policies, including through the International Migration Outlook and ongoing work on the integration of migrants. These efforts will also build on the Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development (KNOMAD) and will involve close collaboration with other organisations.
Increase the coverage of the indicators in the OECD Gender Portal across both OECD and Partner countries.
Further develop the Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI), working with national gender entities and statistical agencies to support global monitoring of the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women.
Improve the tracking and measurement of green growth using OECD’s green growth indicators.
Support interested countries as they implement the OECD Principles on Water Governance, including through the adaptation of indicators to include a focus on the SDGs, the development of a database of good practices, and improved data on local participation in water governance.
Include additional metrics and indicators in OECD Regional and Metropolitan statistics that can help analyse progress and preparedness towards the SDGs. Where there is demand, develop assessments at subnational level of how selected policies help or hinder the SDG implementation.
Monitor the effectiveness of development co-operation, working with the Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation to help strengthen its impact.
Support the OECD data collection work done in the framework of the World Observatory on Subnational Finance and Investment (SNG-WOFI), a joint endeavor started by the OECD and United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) in 2016. The objective of the SNG-WOFI is to increase knowledge and promote dialogue on multi-level governance and subnational finance around the world, by collecting and analysing standardised quantitative data (fiscal database) and qualitative information (country profiles). It also helps monitor the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and other global development agendas, such as the Paris Agreement. The 4th edition, launched in 2022 covers 135 countries across the world.
3. Upgrade OECD support for integrated planning and policymaking at the country level, and provide a space for governments to share experiences on governing for the SDGs
Further adapt, pilot, and refine existing approaches such as the OECD Multi-Dimensional Country Reviews so that countries can use them as a starting point for analyzing policies and developing national strategies to support the SDGs.
Develop a proposal for OECD support to Members in the preparation of SDG-aligned National Development Strategies, based on country demand, and drawing on lessons from an ongoing country pilot. This would involve an integrated, whole-of-government approach combining strategic foresight, wellbeing framework, long-term modelling, and support to implementation.
Update Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development tools and instruments to inform policymaking and monitoring efforts.
Assist in the review and assessment of the capacity of OECD governments to steer and co-ordinate the implementation of the SDGs, including the vital link to planning and budgetary processes; identify challenges and opportunities; and use the existing network of Centres of Government to promote a coordinated, coherent and clear approach across government to the implementation of the SDGs.
Consider the role of municipalities and subnational governments in the implementation of the SDGs; build on Regional Development Policy Committee networks and partnerships with cities and local governments to foster cross-sectoral perspective on SDGs at subnational level; and enhance thematic projects on public service delivery, which can help foster inter-linkages across several SDGs at local and regional levels.
4. Reflect on the implications of the SDGs for OECD external relations
Work to maximise the effectiveness of the OECD’s engagement as a permanent observer of both ECOSOC and of the UN General Assembly, and to contribute effectively to key UN processes and analytic work (e.g. ECOSOC Financing for Development Forum, High Level Political Forum). The scope for a light OECD presence at the United Nations will be explored further.
Leverage OECD regional programmes to share lessons on policy successes and failures, and to promote dialogue among policymakers at the regional level in partnership with the UN regional economic commissions. Relevant policy areas include trade and investment, education, social policies, climate, tax, and infrastructure.
Develop the OECD Global Forum on Development as a regular opportunity for sharing experiences on SDG implementation and consider the roles that other OECD Global Fora may play in relation to the 2030 Agenda.
Support the Platform for Collaboration on Tax, involving the OECD, the UN, the IMF and the World Bank. The Platform provides a way for the main international organisations working on tax to work effectively together on domestic resource mobilisation in support of the SDGs.
Partner with the United Nations to put the multi-stakeholder Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation at the service of all actors as they work to strengthen the means of implementation of the SDGs.
Promote the use of the OECD World Forum on Statistics, Policy and Knowledge as a space for dialogue where statistics and policies speak to each other on pursuing the 2030 Agenda.
Harness existing networks of experts, policymakers and practitioners – including the multi-stakeholder OECD Water Governance Initiative and national policy dialogues on water – to support the achievement of water-related SDG outcomes.
Further develop sector / theme-specific fora so that policy dialogue among OECD and Partner countries supports efforts towards relevant goals (e.g. fora on natural resource-based development, Global Value Chains (GVCs) etc.)
Much of the OECD’s work is relevant to the SDGs. This includes the importance of international co-operation and global governance as well as the Universal Values of the 2030 Agenda, such as the overarching principle of “leaving no one behind” (LNOB) and policy work on the “5Ps” (i.e. People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace and Partnership) that are embedded in the OECD’s programme of work. Since 2015, the OECD has taken steps to integrate an SDG lens into several OECD review processes (including Environmental Performance Reviews, Investment Policy Reviews, Public Governance Reviews, Digital Government Studies Review, and Development Assistance Committee Peer Reviews) as well as analytical working papers and other publications. Concerning SDG monitoring, the OECD contributed to the development of the global indicator framework for the SDGs as an observer to the UN Inter-Agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators (IAEG-SDGs). The OECD is also the custodian or partner agency on several indicators featuring in the global indicator framework. It directly supplies data to the SDG Global Database on official development assistance (ODA) and other international flows, on gender-based legal discrimination (leveraging the OECD Development Centre’s work on the Social Institutions and Gender Index, as well as on access to civil justice and on policy instruments for biodiversity.
Altogether, the OECD's strategic response to the SDGs encompasses generating evidence, identifying good practices, developing standards, and aiding policy design and implementation. Recognising the importance of collaborative partnerships, the OECD leverages its expertise to aid countries at all development levels and has historically engaged in UN processes related to human development and well-being, financing for development, environmental sustainability, and climate change, playing a sizeable role in shaping the 2030 Agenda.