The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are broad and ambitious, calling on all countries – be they upper, middle or low income – to make tangible improvements to the lives of their citizens. The ‌goals ‌encompass social, environmental and economic aspects.

The OECD supports the United Nations in ensuring the success of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by bringing together its existing knowledge, and its unique tools and experience, including:

• a strong track record in policy work with developed and developing countries
• measures and systems for monitoring performance.

In addition, OECD partnerships are creating synergies among private and public, domestic and international, and donor and developing country resources to provide countries with a strong support mechanism on which to build towards a better future.

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 > View also: Measuring Distance to the SDG Targets. The Study has been undertaken to assist member countries with their national implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, but also to help countries navigate the SDGs’ complexity and identify priorities within the broad SDG Agenda. Drawing on the IAEG Global List of indicators and leveraging on the wealth of OECD data, this methodology evaluates the distance countries need to travel to meet each target.

Improving policy coherence

The multi-dimensional nature of the SDGs requires linkages across policy areas. The OECD addresses the multidimensional nature of diverse issues through a variety of horizontal projects and international initiatives. Its Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development Framework helps to identify synergies and trade-offs among economic, social and environmental policy areas. 

The SDGs provide a solid foundation for supporting resilient societies, dealing with humanitarian emergencies, and reducing risks of instability and shocks – even in the most difficult places.

The OECD is helping countries to review their policies and approaches to working in challenging contexts to ensure they are fit for purpose.

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• Conflict and Fragility
• Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development
• Knowledge Sharing Alliance 
• New Approaches to Economic Challenges
• OECD Multi-dimensional Country Reviews
• Policy coherence and green growth
• Policy coherence for development

The OECD also works with developing countries on many fronts to support them in mobilising domestic resources.

Official development assistance (ODA), which is tracked and monitored by the OECD, will remain at the core of many developing countries’ financing portfolios – especially the neediest countries. In addition, the new OECD-developed framework for total official support for sustainable development (TOSSD) captures a wide range of resources in support of sustainable development that complement ODA.

• Aid for trade
• Bribery in international business
• Effective public investment across levels of government
• Financial inclusion
• Guidelines for multinational enterprises
• Illicit financial flows
• Investment in Clean Energy
• MENA initiative for development
• Mobilising resources for sustainable development
• Policy Framework for Investment
• Public-private partnerships
• Responsible Business Conduct
• Tax policy and administration
• Tax Inspectors without Borders

The SDGs promise to leave no one behind, putting sustainable development in motion everywhere, for the benefit of all.

The OECD Framework for Measuring Well-Being and Progress goes beyond GDP growth and is increasingly being used by developing countries to identify and assess development challenges. Other OECD projects, such as the Inclusive Growth initiative, the Multi-Dimensional Country Reviews, regional policy assessment programmes, and youth inclusion and social protection projects in developing countries also incorporate well-being. 

The OECD works in particular to deliver the SDGs for women and girls through a range of partnerships and programmes. It also provides solid and comprehensive policies for the integration of migrants and their children.

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• Cities
• Gender
• How is life in your region?
• Inclusive growth
• Measuring well-being
• Migration
• Poverty
• Water governance

Successful implementation of the SDGs will require striking a balance between socio-economic progress, sustaining the planet’s resources and ecosystems, and combatting climate change.

OECD works with its members, partner countries and other stakeholders to ensure sound environmental management that supports the sustained achievement of economic development and prosperity, while delivering human security and resilience. For example, together with the World Water Council, the OECD has created a High Level Panel on Financing Infrastructure for a Water Secure World.

The OECD tracks international climate finance and is sharing its expertise on these flows, and on the implications of different methodologies for estimating climate finance.

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• Aligning policies for a low-carbon economy
• Biodiversity
• Climate change
• Environment and development
• Green growth and sustainable development
• Ocean
• Policy Dialogue on Natural Resource-based Development
• Statistics on environmental development finance
• Water

To implement the SDG goals and targets, governments all over the world, international and non-governmental organisations, the private sector and civil society will need to team up. Working together they can unlock the necessary financial resources, share technologies and create national capacities.

The OECD provides a platform for dialogue and exchange. Together with UNDP it supports the Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation, which brings all stakeholders to the table to discuss development issues on an equal footing.

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• Effective Institutions Platform
• Global Network of Foundations Working for Development
• Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation
• International Dialogue on Peacebuilding and Statebuilding
• OECD Development Centre
• OECD Development Communication Network
• OECD Emerging Markets Network

Turning the ambition of the SDGs into reality will require robust data to capture progress and evidence to inform decision making.

The OECD is helping countries to track progress in areas such as trust, health inequalities, green growth, income and consumption inequality, and job quality. It supports countries in developing and using environmental and green growth indicators and in achieving environment-economy integration over time.

The OECD also supports developing countries in building their own statistical capacities and systems through the PARIS21 partnership.

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• OECD data
• OECD.Stat
• PARIS21
• Development results and the SDGs
• The SDG Financing Lab
• States of Fragility Platform
• Total Official Support for Sustainable Development (TOSSD)

‌Inclusive follow up and review mechanisms will be essential to incentivise action and learning around the 2030 Agenda.

OECD country assessments, peer reviews and peer learning mechanisms across a range of policy fields – economic, investment, environmental, energy, migration, education, development co-operation and more – play a key role in sharing learning and knowledge, improving policies and practices, and building trust and mutual respect among partners.

The OECD is adapting its range of assessment and learning mechanisms - including the Programme for International Student Assessment, or PISA -  to the new 2030 Agenda.

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• Economic surveys and country surveillance
• Environmental country reviews
• OECD peer reviews
• PISA for development
• PISA