Multi-stakeholder partnerships

Multi-stakeholder partnerships play a pivotal role in advancing the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Recognizing the scale and complexity of the global challenges the SDGs aim to address, these partnerships bring together actors from the public sector, private sector, civil society, academia, and more. By leveraging the unique resources, perspectives, and capabilities of diverse stakeholders, these partnerships can significantly enhance our collective ability to achieve the SDGs.

Multi-stakeholder partnerships can facilitate innovative solutions to complex issues. For example, collaborations between technology companies, governments, and NGOs can create digital solutions that improve access to education (SDG 4) or health services (SDG 3). By sharing knowledge and resources, partnerships can also address the issue of poverty (SDG 1) by creating sustainable job opportunities, providing financial resources, and offering necessary training and education.

Beyond fostering innovation, these partnerships promote inclusivity and leave no one behind, a fundamental principle of the SDGs. By ensuring that all voices are heard - from marginalized communities to large corporations - multi-stakeholder partnerships can create solutions that are equitable and effective, thereby promoting SDG 10, which calls for reduced inequalities.

Additionally, multi-stakeholder partnerships exemplify the spirit of SDG 17, which advocates for the strengthening of the means of implementation and revitalization of the global partnership for sustainable development. SDG 17 acknowledges that our global challenges are interconnected and that collaborative and coordinated efforts are crucial to achieving the SDGs.

However, to be effective, multi-stakeholder partnerships must be governed by principles of transparency, accountability, and mutual respect. Clear communication, defined roles and responsibilities, and regular assessments of progress are also crucial for success.

On April 22nd 1970, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment in massive coast-to-coast rallies. Spearhead by Senator Nelson, after witnessing the ravages of the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill, the first Earth Day protests forced environmental protection onto the national political agenda and led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passing of key environmental legislation.

The SDG Impact of COVID-19 podcast series gathers expert opinion exploring the impact of COVID-19 on the Sustainable Development Goals. In this segment, we get the view of Dr Claire Melamed, CEO of the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data.
With the increasing importance of ‘emerging powers’ in the global economy, questions are raised about the role of developing countries in shaping global norms. The assumption in much of the literature has been to see global norms as originating in the ‘North’ (or the ‘West’). Recent research has begun to challenge this view. This paper contributes to this debate in studying the agency of the South in the adoption of sustainable development as the consensus framework for international development (SDGs).
In 2019 RELX hosted an SDG Inspiration Day in Delhi to inspire scalable, collaborative action on the 17 SDGs, with particular emphasis on sustainable cities: SDG 11, critical to the rest. Watch videos of the speakers

United Nations University, September 2019.

Directly relevant to SDGs 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), this report explores a public-private partnership which puts the financial sector at the heart of global efforts to end modern slavery and human trafficking and accelerate action in eradicating these practices.
Municipal advisory committees are becoming increasingly influential in guiding decision-making processes that address climatic issues. According to the Adaptigation Institutionalization Framework (included in the recent IPCC report), the implementation of such participatory structures is vital for the effective, joint institutionalization of climate change mitigation and adaptation. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence to support this claim. Against this background, this paper tests the Adaptigation Framework using the example of municipal advisory committees in Germany.
There are increasing policy and market drivers for removing chemicals of concern from manufacturing processes and products. These drivers have centered primarily on developed countries. However, global activities through the United Nations, individual countries, and advocacy organizations are increasing concerns about chemical impacts in developing countries and economies in transition as well. While reducing the use of chemicals of concern is a primary goal, eliminating such substances without thoughtful consideration for their replacements can lead to regrettable substitutions.
This report represents more than a decade of research on sustainable business. Together with the UN Global Compact Progress Report, it forms the world’s most comprehensive research to date on business contribution to the SDGs, advancing Goals 12 and 17.
The Africa Regional Data Cube (ARDC), based on the Open Data Cube infrastructure, is a technological innovation that layers 17 years of satellite imagery and Earth observation data for five African countries. This report identifies the key enabling environment, data management and sharing factors that affect the operationalization of the ARDC and makes recommendations to inform the scale-up of the technology, furthering SDGs 9 and 17.
Linking to SDGs 6 (clean water and sanitation), 12 (responsible consumption and production) and 17 (partnerships for the goals), this website catalogues and facilitates water stewardship projects in river basins and regions around the world.

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