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Success factors of global goal-setting for sustainable development : Learning from the Millennium Development Goals

Hickmann, Thomas LU orcid ; Biermann, Frank LU ; Spinazzola, Matteo ; Ballard, Charlotte ; Bogers, Maya ; Forestier, Oana ; Kalfagianni, Agni ; Kim, Rakhyun E. ; Montesano, Francesco S. and Peek, Tom , et al. (2023) In Sustainable Development 31(3). p.1214-1225
Abstract

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were an important precursor to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Hence, identifying the conditions that made the MDGs successful enhances our understanding of global goal-setting and informs the global endeavour to achieve the SDGs. Drawing on a comprehensive review of 316 articles published between 2009 and 2018, we identify six factors that have enabled or hindered MDG implementation. Our analysis stresses the importance of path dependencies and shows that the MDGs catalysed changes only for those countries with sufficient resource availability, administrative capacity and economic development, as well as adequate support from external donors. National ownership and NGO pressure... (More)

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were an important precursor to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Hence, identifying the conditions that made the MDGs successful enhances our understanding of global goal-setting and informs the global endeavour to achieve the SDGs. Drawing on a comprehensive review of 316 articles published between 2009 and 2018, we identify six factors that have enabled or hindered MDG implementation. Our analysis stresses the importance of path dependencies and shows that the MDGs catalysed changes only for those countries with sufficient resource availability, administrative capacity and economic development, as well as adequate support from external donors. National ownership and NGO pressure bolstered efforts to implement the MDGs. These findings suggest that globally agreed goals do not easily trickle down from the global to the national level. Thus, this article adopts a forward-looking perspective and draws key lessons for the current implementation of the SDGs in developing countries.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
2030 agenda implementation, global goal-setting, global governance, MDGs, millennium development goals, SDGs, sustainable development goals
in
Sustainable Development
volume
31
issue
3
pages
12 pages
publisher
John Wiley & Sons Inc.
external identifiers
  • scopus:85142646076
ISSN
0968-0802
DOI
10.1002/sd.2461
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors. Sustainable Development published by ERP Environment and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
id
c75b03df-76ad-42b0-9620-cd0a93b3f320
date added to LUP
2022-12-11 11:59:34
date last changed
2023-07-31 12:44:52
@article{c75b03df-76ad-42b0-9620-cd0a93b3f320,
  abstract     = {{<p>The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were an important precursor to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Hence, identifying the conditions that made the MDGs successful enhances our understanding of global goal-setting and informs the global endeavour to achieve the SDGs. Drawing on a comprehensive review of 316 articles published between 2009 and 2018, we identify six factors that have enabled or hindered MDG implementation. Our analysis stresses the importance of path dependencies and shows that the MDGs catalysed changes only for those countries with sufficient resource availability, administrative capacity and economic development, as well as adequate support from external donors. National ownership and NGO pressure bolstered efforts to implement the MDGs. These findings suggest that globally agreed goals do not easily trickle down from the global to the national level. Thus, this article adopts a forward-looking perspective and draws key lessons for the current implementation of the SDGs in developing countries.</p>}},
  author       = {{Hickmann, Thomas and Biermann, Frank and Spinazzola, Matteo and Ballard, Charlotte and Bogers, Maya and Forestier, Oana and Kalfagianni, Agni and Kim, Rakhyun E. and Montesano, Francesco S. and Peek, Tom and Sénit, Carole Anne and van Driel, Melanie and Vijge, Marjanneke J. and Yunita, Abbie}},
  issn         = {{0968-0802}},
  keywords     = {{2030 agenda implementation; global goal-setting; global governance; MDGs; millennium development goals; SDGs; sustainable development goals}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{1214--1225}},
  publisher    = {{John Wiley & Sons Inc.}},
  series       = {{Sustainable Development}},
  title        = {{Success factors of global goal-setting for sustainable development : Learning from the Millennium Development Goals}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/sd.2461}},
  doi          = {{10.1002/sd.2461}},
  volume       = {{31}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}