Financing Catalytic Action For SDG Transitions

The reforms of the UN development system have transformed its ability to support countries with the implementation of the SDGs. Under the leadership of the UN Resident Coordinators (RCs), UN Country Teams (UNCTs) are now optimally positioned to propel progress on the six transitions. To propel the key SDG transitions, the UN Joint SDG Fund will support UNCTs to deliver four 'engine room' actions at the country level, both building on and supporting regional and global efforts. The lens of the six transitions – and the critical mass of integrated policy expertise behind each – will enable RCs and UNCTs to deliver better together to help countries unlock the rapid and deep transformations needed to achieve the Goals by 2030. As neutral and trusted arbiters, RCs can harness the expertise and networks of the entire UN development system and convene governments and all stakeholders in concerted partnership. This means UNCTs are now uniquely able to connect the relevant entry points to national ambitions and priorities, ensuring that the UN’s collective and entity-specific programming responses enable policy and financing partnerships to make these a reality. The new generation of the UN’s “Common Country Analyses” and “Cooperation Frameworks” already reflects this revitalisation, with a reinvigorated ability to help countries address complex, interconnected SDG challenges.

At the global level, the UN Joint SDG Fund has been transformed to accompany these transitions, incubating and capitalising new windows to finance each; such catalytic support to UNCTs will be critical for results at the country level. Similarly, regional intergovernmental mechanisms and strengthened UN coordination platforms are enabling coherent policy dialogues around these key areas, enabling collaborative responses to the demand from RCs and UNCTs for country-specific implementation. The multilevel approach to these ‘engine room’ actions are additionally seen in the twelve “High-Impact Initiatives” (HIIs) which were showcased at the 2023 SDG Summit, as areas where real change triggered by the UN is happening, and around which partnerships can be built and expanded for further investments in the six transitions.