Information for integrated Decision-Making & Participation

Integrated Decision-Making & Participation (IDMP) has rapidly emerged as a potent strategic tool for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – a blueprint established by the United Nations for attaining global peace, prosperity, and protection of our planet. Fundamentally, IDMP weaves together diverse threads of information from a myriad of sources, fostering a collaborative environment that facilitates participatory decision-making. This comprehensive approach harnesses the power of information to drive robust, evidence-based strategies for sustainable development, thereby underpinning the realization of the 17 SDGs.

In the complex realm of sustainability, information forms the bedrock of any successful strategy. The more diverse and accurate the data, the better informed the strategies, and by extension, the more likely they are to succeed. IDMP, by centralizing the collection, analysis, and dissemination of relevant information, offers an efficient mechanism for transforming raw data into actionable intelligence. Decision-makers in governments, NGOs, or private sectors can therefore engage in efficient, informed policy-making, tailoring their strategies to local, regional, and global contexts.

Participation, on the other hand, infuses these data-driven decisions with a crucial human touch. It ensures that the voices of stakeholders at all levels – from grassroots communities to international organizations – are heard and factored into decision-making processes. This collaborative approach fosters a sense of ownership among stakeholders, facilitates the resolution of conflicts of interest, and ultimately, leads to more sustainable and acceptable outcomes.

The synergy of information and participation through IDMP directly contributes to the implementation of SDGs. Whether it's improving health and education (SDGs 3 and 4), promoting economic growth and decent work (SDGs 8 and 9), or tackling climate change (SDG 13), IDMP helps guide policy and practice towards sustainable outcomes by empowering stakeholders with the right information and ensuring their active participation in decision-making processes.

By mapping the intricate web of interdependencies between various SDGs, IDMP can also illuminate hidden opportunities for synergies and highlight potential pitfalls of trade-offs. The promotion of gender equality (SDG 5), for instance, not only stands as an objective in its own right but also catalyzes progress towards other SDGs such as quality education, reduced inequalities, and sustainable communities.

Linking to Goal 17, this report examines how institutional investors across the world are beginning to interact with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and paint an early picture of investors’ current and future plans to engage with these Goals.
Linking to Goal 17, this report helps investors understand the sustainable development goals and how financial markets can support sustainable development.
Elsevier,

Agricultural Law and Economics in Sub-Saharan Africa: Cases and Comments, Chapter 5, 2016, Pages 141–184

This chapter examines contracting between literate and illiterate parties in sub-Saharan Africa in a market-led development approach. It supports goal 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions) and goal 10 (reduced inequalities).
This chapter addresses SDGs 3 and 10 by providing a review of intellectual disabilities, health disparities and health inequality in both children and adults through current research on the causes, effects, classification systems and syndromes of developmental disabilities.
Human health is better now than at any time in history, but these gains have come at a high price: the degradation of nature’s ecological systems on a scale never seen in human history. A growing body of evidence shows that the health of humanity is intrinsically linked to the health of the environment, but by its actions humanity now threatens to destabilise the Earth’s key life-support systems. As a Commission, we conclude that the continuing degradation of natural systems threatens to reverse the health gains seen over the last century. The SDGs provide a great opportunity to integrate health and sustainability through the judicious selection of relevant indicators relevant to human wellbeing, the enabling infrastructure for development, and the supporting natural systems, together with the need for strong governance.
Integration and interconnection are two key themes in this chapter, which primarily addresses goals 8 (decent work and economic development) and 13 (climate action) although has links to several others.
Elsevier,

Encyclopedia of Biodiversity (Second Edition), 2013, Pages 399-410

This book chapter addresses goals 13, 14, 15 and 17 by discussing the definition of biodiversity that is both scientifically sensible and universally applicable; this is imperative to help guide the design of policy and programs for the future, as well as to make critical decisions in the present.

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