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United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Sustainable Development

UNU United Nations University (UNU)

1. Since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs, has the governing body of your organization taken (or will it take) any decisions or new strategies to guide the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs? If any, please provide a brief summary below, including the overarching vision of your organization.

For more than four decades, the United Nations University (UNU) has focused its research on finding solutions for the pressing global problems of human survival, development, and welfare. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that the UNU research agenda is uniquely comprehensive, and spans the full breadth of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

 

UNU’s global network of specialised research institutes, comprising some 400 researchers engaged in more than 180 research projects, collaborates to address the complex, multifaceted challenges encompassed by the 17 SDGs. Given its interdisciplinary, cross-cutting research approach, UNU is particularly active where the different goals merge and interact ― a vital concern, as interconnections are central to the achieving the SDGs,

 

UNU seeks to generate evidence-based knowledge that can help policymakers develop realistic solutions by encouraging a rethinking of policies and approaches based on fresh perspectives on today’s issues, proactive analyses of emergent concerns, and sound policy alternatives.

 

The SDGs were adopted too late to be incorporated into the current (2015–2019) UNU Strategic Plan. We have, however, launched an initiative that highlights the many synergies between UNU’s work programme and the 17 SDGs. The 2030 Agenda will inform the formulation of the next (2020–2024) UNU Strategic Plan, which is currently under development.

 

The UNU Council, the governing body of the University, has considered the importance of looking at development in an integrated way in order to achieve the goals of Agenda 2030, as well as how UNU’s institutes can best align their work with the SDGs. In its 68th session (December 2017), Council members and UNU Institute Directors discussed ways of further integrating UNU’s work with the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda for Development and underlined UNU’s value of offering an interface and assisting policymakers to navigate the complex world of interconnected goals and targets.

 

Information about the substantive contributions that UNU has made to implementing and monitoring the SDGs and their targets can be found in the online UNU Sustainable Development Explorer (https://unu.edu/explore) and UNU Annual Report 2017 (https://i.unu.edu/media/unu.edu/publication/95189/unu_ar2017_en.pdf).

 

 

2.1 SDG-specific strategies, plans or work programmes

UNU has not specifically compiled a long-term strategy with regard to its role in SDG implementation or included SDGs explicitly among its priority themes in the current Strategic Plan (2015-2019, prepared in 2014). However, most if not all, of UNU’s institutes work on specific SDGs or aspects thereof and are strongly involved in global networks/initiatives working to implement SDGs. Numerous other specific examples can be found in UNU’s Annual Reports, in specific projects, and institute publications.

 

2.2 Aligning the structure of the organization with the transformative features of the 2030 Agenda, including any challenges and lessons learned in doing so

As part of regular efforts to manage and improve the quality and management of its work, UNU has developed an in-house proprietary project management system (“Pelikan”). It is an online portal and database, which supports directors and project managers in their implementation of research projects from inception to conclusion.

 

In support of UNU’s efforts to align research projects with the 2030 Agenda, Pelikan includes a monitoring tool that allows UNU researchers and project managers to identify the relevant SDG(s) that each UNU (research) project addresses. Progress and completion reports via Pelikan throughout the project cycle further inform about the relevance and impact of individual projects to the SDG(s).

 

 

2.3 Readjusting or updating results-based budgeting and management, including performance indicators:

Please see the answers to 2.2.

 

2.4 Action to enhance support to the principle of "leaving no one behind" and to integrated policy approaches:

Please see the answers to 2.1.

 

3.1 Mainstreaming the SDGs in development plans and policies or through national sustainable development plans/strategies:

UNU undertakes a variety of research activities that directly or indirectly provide assistance or support capacity building of Member States in their implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs. The following examples are illustrative but non-exhaustive of UNU’s contributions.

 

The project Towards Inclusive Development in Myanmar undertaken by the UNU World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) is establishing a rigorous system for monitoring the nation’s industrial small and medium enterprise sector. The project seeks to improve information and knowledge about economic policy issues in Myanmar, thereby strengthening the government’s capacity to appropriately address key structural transformation and development challenges.

 

https://unu.edu/projects/towards-inclusive-growth-and-economic-reform-myanmar.html

 

The focus of another project by UNU-WIDER, Development Policy and Practice – Competing Paradigms and Approaches, is on how to reinvigorate development economics to address the challenge of productive transformation that once again speaks to the needs of policymakers: what was right and what was wrong in the toolkit of big development economics as it has evolved over the past 60 years, and how best to analyse productive transformation in ways that are relevant in today’s global economy and to today’s decision-makers. The results will be translated into policy recommendations for low- and lower-middle income countries.

 

https://unu.edu/projects/development-policy-and-practice-competing-paradigms-and-approaches.html

 

 

3.2 Mainstreaming the SDGs in sectoral strategies, including specific SDG/target strategies:

The UNU Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) worked with ESCAP to develop the Guidelines for Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships for Sustainable Development Goals Implementation in Asia and the Pacific. The draft guidelines, submitted for discussion to the fifth session of the Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (2018), aim to: help improve existing partnership processes and prepare better ones in the future; provide practical guidance to address opportunities and challenges for partnerships, promote inclusiveness, and support capacity building for developing, implementing, and sustaining multi-stakeholder partnerships.

 

http://collections.unu.edu/view/UNU:6459

 

Through its Water and Energy Security for Africa project, the UNU Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) is working with a consortium of academic partners to support the Pan African University Institute of Water and Energy Sciences (hosted at the University of Tlemcen in Algeria) to train researchers to implement innovative scientific research methods that will generate solutions to ensure water and energy security on the continent.

 

https://unu.edu/projects/water-and-energy-security-for-africa-wesa.html

 

 

4.1 Supporting the intergovernmental body of your organization in contributing to the thematic review of the HLPF:

UNU does not have an intergovernmental body. It does, however, still contribute to the HLPF thematic reviews. UNU contributed Secretary General’s Report in support of the ECOSOC thematic review on "From global to local: supporting sustainable and resilient societies in urban and rural communities” with contributions from UNU-CPR, FLORES, IAS and INWEH. In addition, UNU indirectly contributes to the thematic review process through the submission of our partners, such as on ICT for Development in 2018 and the Higher Education Sustainability Initiative for 2017, as well as participation in expert meetings in preparation for the HLPF.

 

4.2 Contributing to policy/background briefs for the HLPF:

UNU-INWEH directly contributed to the production of the new UN-Water Synthesis Report on the global progress towards SDG6, which was launched at HLPF in July 2018 in New York. Institute staff also made presentations at several high-level side events of the HLPF, including separate sessions on: technical aspects of SDG6 Synthesis Report; water and migration–together with UNU-CPR and IOM; and the outcomes of the High-Level Water conference in Dushanbe in June 2018, representing the UN-Water Chair with a summary statement.

 

Coinciding with the HLPF 2018 meeting, UNU-IAS published research outcomes contributing to governance of SDGs Implementation in Policy Briefs, such as Implementing the 2030 Agenda in Asia and the Pacific: Insights from Voluntary National Reviews.

 

https://ias.unu.edu/en/news/news/policy-brief-14.html

 

 

4.3 Helping organize SDG-specific events in the preparatory process:

As a preparatory event to the HLPF, during the Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) 2017, UNU-IAS co-organized a workshop on Multi-stakeholder Partnerships for the SDGs Implementation in Asia and the Pacific in partnership with UNESCAP. For APFSD 2018, UNU-IAS and UNESCAP held a launch event for newly published Guidelines for Multi-stakeholder Partnerships to Implement the 2030 Agenda in Asia-Pacific, and actively supported regional efforts in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the region.

 

https://ias.unu.edu/en/news/news/apfsd.html#info
https://ias.unu.edu/en/news/news/multi-stakeholder-guidance.html

 

 

4.4 Organizing side evens or speaking at the HLPF:

On 17 July 2018, UNU-IAS co-organized the side event Toward Sustainable Cities in Asia-Pacific, jointly with the Government of Japan, UNESCAP, the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, and Keio University SFC. Focusing specifically on SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), the event showcased the increasingly important roles that cities and local authorities have taken in the Asia-Pacific region towards achieving the SDGs while acknowledging the need for concrete steps to strengthen regional cooperation.

 

5. How has your organization cooperated with other UN system organizations to achieve coherence and synergies in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs? In this regard, has your organization launched or intend to launch any joint programmes or projects in collaboration with other UN entities? Are there any results or lessons you would like to highlight that might help improve the design and impact of such efforts? Has your organization participated in any of the following coordination systemwide mechanisms or any other relevant platform - CEB, UNDG, EC-ESA Plus, RCMs, UN-Energy, UN-Water, UN-Ocean, IAEG, IATT?  Please specify which and indicate any suggestions you may have about improving collaborations within and across these mechanisms/platforms:

UNU institutes and programmes frequently seek to cooperate with other UN system organizations to achieve coherence and synergies in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and SDGs. An example of this synergy is highlighted by UNU-INWEH’s cooperation with UNDESA to coordinate the UN-Water task force which seeks to implement the 2030 Agenda and water-related SDGs. UN-Water has some 10+ UN-Water Members and partners including UNESCO, UN-Habitat, CBD Secretariat, FAO, UN ESCWA, UN Environment, IFAD, IAHS, Women for Water, WWF, Water.org, GWP and UNISDR.

 

One of the key products developed by UNU-INWEH is the SDG Policy Support System (PSS), designed to assist UN member states achieve their specific national SDG6 targets within their national institutional and policy contexts. The system is now being used by the governments of 5 countries to ensure accelerated progress towards national SDG6 targets and is accessible online with video tutorials and user guides in English, Spanish and French. The tool will be rolled out in more countries in subsequent years; but even with already completed effort, the project has clear potential to positively influence a total population of 283 million, and, particularly those without or inadequate water supplies (143 million people) and those without or inadequate sanitation facilities (104 million people).

 

Another example is how UNU-IAS, jointly with UNESCAP, developed and published Guidelines for Multi-stakeholder Partnerships to Implement the 2030 Agenda in Asia and the Pacific at the Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) in March 2018, to support ESCAP member states to mainstream the SDGs into their policies. The guidelines include the importance of considering the 2030 Agenda at every level of partnership, the mainstreaming of SDGs at the global and local level, and the importance of Capacity Building. The guidelines have also helped the Government of Indonesia in developing its own national level guidelines.

 

https://ias.unu.edu/en/news/news/multi-stakeholder-guidance.html

 

Further, UNU was elected as the 2017 Chair of the Global Migration Group (GMG), an inter-agency body that brings together the heads of 22 United Nations system entities to encourage the adoption of more coherent, comprehensive, and better coordinated approaches to the issue of international migration. This provided a number of opportunities for UNU, to support efforts towards a coherence approach and architecture on migration of use to Member States, to constituent parts of the United Nations system, to stakeholders beyond the United Nations, and to scholars interested in this issue.

 

 

6. How has your organization engaged with stakeholder groups, both in supporting implementation at the country, regional and global levels, and within your own organization? If yes, please provide main highlights, including any lessons learned:

UNU is mandated to serve a number of constituencies and, in its activities, works with stakeholders at all levels ― from grass-roots and local groups to national government ministries to regional and international organisations (including other United Nations system entities). In particular, the University serves as a bridge between the United Nations and the global academic community, with the aim of providing a platform for (global and local) dialogue and contributing to research and teaching capacity building (particularly in developing countries).

 

Given the differing interests and concerns of the various stakeholder groups with which it interacts, UNU strives to contextualize its outputs in terms that are most relevant to each group. The University seeks to ensure that both its research findings, and its researchers, are visible and accessible to stakeholder groups around the world.

 

Because UNU has institutes/units based in more than a dozen countries, it enjoys a special relationship with these national governments and work with the relevant ministries to ensure that maximum benefits accrue to its host countries.

 

UNU also conducts collaborative research activities with partners in a variety of economic and industrial sectors, in areas such as environmental monitoring, health, and risk and vulnerability assessment. Such cooperation serves to heighten interest in the University’s research as well as to augment support from private sector entities for UNU activities, including SDG-related work.

 

In one example, UNU-IAS launched the “SDG Dialogue Series” in 2016, a platform to discuss solutions to sustainability issues and enhance public awareness of the SDGs. The events engage a diverse set of stakeholders who are invited and encouraged to share insights and ideas for achieving the SDGs in their multidimensionality. Discussions over this series have been reflected in UNU-IAS research programmes.

 

https://ias.unu.edu/en/events/archive/filter/category_event=756

 

 

7. Has your organization organized any conferences, forums or events designed to facilitate exchange of experience, peer and mutual learning? If yes, please provide a brief summary below and include lessons learned and gaps identified based on the outcomes of these events. Please also include any events you plan to organize in the coming years.

The University convenes numerous events each year; some of these are attended by specialized audiences while others are open to the general public. In addition to offering a venue for sharing knowledge and providing networking opportunities for scholars, researchers, and practitioners, these events serve to extend the impact and the reach of UNU research.

 

In 2017, UNU held more than 270 events worldwide, including 67 seminars, 65 conferences/symposiums, 54 workshops, and 16 lectures. The topics of these events touched on the full range of the SDGs.

 

Selected series events organised or co-organised by UNU that are relevant to the SDGs include:

 

 

Among events convened by UNU in 2017 and 2018, the following presents a selection of those with particular relevance to the SDGs:

 

 

 

8. Is there any other information you would like to share, including annual reports of your organization and any impact assessment or evaluation reports? If yes, please use the space below and attach the document(s). Please also use this space to provide any other information, comments or remarks you deem necessary:

The UNU Sustainable Development Explorer (https://unu.edu/explore), launched in January 2018, is an online portal that presents the “who” and “what” of UNU’s work on each of the 17 SDGS. It features selected UNU research projects as well as experts, articles, and publications.

 

The UNU Annual Report 2017 (https://i.unu.edu/media/unu.edu/publication/95189/unu_ar2017_en.pdf) focuses on how the work and activities of UNU are aligned with, and support achievement of, of the SDGs. As mandated by its Charter, UNU reports annually “to the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, and the Executive Board of UNESCO ... on the work of the University” (e.g., https://undocs.org/E/2017/51).

 

Each year, UNU produces hundreds of publications: reports, working/discussion papers, peer-reviewed articles, books, policy briefs, etc. More than 5,700 of these publications are available online at no cost at Collections at UNU (http://collections.unu.edu/). Those explicitly relevant to the SDGs can be found by searching for “SDGs” or “Sustainable Development Goals”.

 

 

9. In your view, what should a strategic plan for the UN system in support of the 2030 Agenda and SDGs look like? What key elements should it include and major challenges address in such a road map?

To be effective, the strategic plan should recognize the linkages between the individuals goals/targets, and focus on better harnessing the synergies and effectively managing the tradeoffs inherent in action and implementation. Further, it should help to ensure that activities and policies are evidence-based, reflecting the findings of unbiased, interdisciplinary research.

ECESA Plus Member
UNU
Year of submission: 2019