Policy Briefs

UN DESA experts are working to help decision makers around the world navigate tough choices and to find ways to recover better from the COVID-19 crisis and prepare for complex and compounded risks in today's interconnected world.

Watch this space for the latest research, analysis and policy advice from UN DESA, an effort to support and complement the United Nations Secretary-General’s initiatives in response to the COVID-19 crisis, Decade of Action to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals and call by the Member States to advance Our Common Agenda.

Special Issue

In collaboration with the United Nations High-level Advisory Board on Economic and Social Affairs

Financing the Sustainable Development Goals through mission-oriented development banks

By Mariana Mazzucato

8 September 2023

There is an urgent need for channelling long-term risk-tolerant finance towards achieving the SDGs. National Development Banks (NDBs) and Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) can play a crucial role in mobilizing the needed capital but only if a ‘mission-oriented’ approach is adopted to galvanize, catalyze, and crowd in substantial global public and private finance, from billions to trillions. Missions help broad SDG related challenges, like global health and climate change, turn into investment pathways where strong publicly set goals crowd in private investment. Key is to make sure that strong conditions around reciprocity determine equitable and just partnerships.

Future of the World

This series aims to provide UN DESA’s foresight analysis to advance our preparedness for future challenges and crises, and to reduce risks and make our systems more resilient. The series is part of the Future of the World initiative launched in the fall of 2021, which will also feature online policy dialogues with the authors of the policy briefs and related experts in connection with the topics of the briefs.

How can we accelerate transformations to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? Insights from the 2023 Global Sustainable Development Report

11 March 2024

Progress on the SDGs requires integrated approaches operating at a systemic level that address multiple goals simultaneously. Interventions toward progress on a given target must also generate positive synergies with other targets, while resolving tradeoffs. Transformative change does not follow a linear path, and policy needs will vary across contexts and phases of transformation. Policies should respond to impediments unique to each phase – emergence, acceleration, or stabilization.

How Can Governments Strengthen Their Relationships with Society to Meet the Sustainable Development Goals? Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic

11 March 2024

The COVID-19 pandemic sparked innovation and experimentation in public institutions. Institutional and policy changes can improve Governments’ relationships with other actors and highlight opportunities to accelerate SDG progress. Renewed social contracts, built on trust, are crucial if societies are to meet today’s compounding challenges, better respond to future crises, and achieve the SDGs.

Previous Policy Briefs (see in a list format)

Enhancing Public Institutions’ Risk-informed Communication to address Multifaceted Crises for Disaster Risk Reduction, Resilience and Climate Action

Accelerating middle-income countries’ progress towards sustainable development

India overtakes China as the world’s most populous country

Population, education and sustainable development: interlinkages and select policy implications

Why Indigenous languages matter: The International Decade on Indigenous Languages 2022–2032

Economic well-being at older ages: prospects for the future

Promoting youth participation in decision-making and public service delivery through harnessing digital technologies

Beneficial ownership information: Supporting fair taxation and financial integrity

Old age inequality begins at birth: life course influences on late-life disability

Why safe, orderly and regular migration matters for sustainable development

On the importance of monitoring inequality in life expectancy

Moving Beyond GDP and Achieving Our Common Agenda with Natural Capital Accounting

Caregiving in an ageing world

Old-age poverty has a woman’s face

A just green transition: concepts and practice so far

A World of 8 Billion

Strengthening Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience for Climate Action through Risk-informed Governance

Improving the criteria to access aid for countries that need it the most

Ensuring SDG progress amid recurrent crises

Promoting non-discrimination in public administration: some entry points

Cryptoassets and so-called “stablecoins”: Where do we go from here?

The 'Great Finance Divide'

Migration Trends and Families

Data for Now: Leveraging innovative sources, technologies and methods for better, more timely and disaggregated data for sustainable development

Credit Rating Agencies and Sovereign Debt: Four proposals to support achievement of the SDGs

Why population growth matters for sustainable development

The monetary policy response to COVID-19: the role of asset purchase programmes

Addressing Climate Change Through Sport

Covid-19 Pandemic Disruption – Implications on the full deployment of the United Nations Legal Identity Agenda

Partnering with the Private Sector towards a Future of Sustainable Transport

Improving compatibility of approaches to identify, verify and align investments to sustainability goals

Integrated National Financing Frameworks – moving towards financing policy integration

Sandboxing and experimenting digital technologies for sustainable development

Adapting international development cooperation to reduce risk, enable recovery and build resilience

Bringing the data community and policy makers together to ensure a world with data we trust

Investing in the future of rural non-farm economies

The critical role of income redistribution for poverty reduction: Alternative scenarios

Policy implications of the disruption of the implementation of the 2020 World Population and Housing Census Programme due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Building the capacities of public servants to implement the 2030 Agenda

A view of changes in institutional arrangements for SDG implementation at the national level since 2015

Horizontal and vertical integration are more necessary than ever for COVID-19 recovery and SDG implementation

Connecting the dots: The still elusive synergies between accountability institutions and the follow-up and review of the SDGs

Digitally enabled new forms of work and policy implications for labour regulation frameworks and social protection systems

Harnessing longevity in the future of work

Wildfires – a growing concern for sustainable development

Time for transformative changes for SDGs: what the data tells us

Recovering better and supporting the Decade of Action (July 2020 – June 2021 Series)

This series features UN DESA’s analysis and policy recommendations with the aim to recover better from the COVID-19 crisis and ensure a better and sustainable recovery to meet the promises of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Jump to sections by clicking on the icons below

SDG progress and implementation

Impact of COVID-19 on SDG progress: a statistical perspective

Achieving SDGs in the wake of COVID-19: Scenarios for policymakers

Impact of COVID-19: perspective from Voluntary National Reviews

Transformational partnerships and partnership platforms

Economic insecurity

A new global deal must promote economic security

The politics of economic insecurity in the COVID-19 era

A changing world of work: implications for the social contract

What triggers economic insecurity and who is most at risk?

Trust in public institutions: Trends and implications for economic security

Rural development

In situ urbanization key to leaving no one behind

Circular agriculture for sustainable rural development

Reducing poverty and inequality in rural areas: key to inclusive development

Social protection in rural areas: achieving universal access for all

Data, governance and digital technologies

Strengthening data governance for effective use of open data and big data analytics for combating COVID-19

Leveraging digital technologies for social inclusion

COVID-19: How the data and statistical community stepped up to the new challenges

Sustainable financing and investment

Integrated national financing frameworks—a framework to build back better

Financing sustainable forest management: a key component of sustainable COVID-19 recovery

COVID-19 and beyond: Scaling up private investment for sustainable development

Risk-informed finance

Why does corporate sustainability reporting matter to rebuilding better?

Effective blended finance in the era of COVID-19 recovery

Inclusive, sustainable and green recovery for all

COVID-19 and a primer on shock-responsive social protection systems

Recovering from COVID-19: the importance of investing in global public goods for health

Social policy and social protection measures to build Africa better post-COVID-19

Challenges and opportunities for indigenous peoples’ sustainability

Population, food security, nutrition and sustainable development

Accelerate action to revamp production and consumption patterns: the circular economy, cooperatives and the social and solidarity economy

Socioeconomic impact and response to COVID-19 (April – June 2020 Series)

Responding to COVID-19 and Recovering Better is a compilation volume of UN DESA’s policy brief series released during the period of April-June, focusing on the economic and social impact of COVID-19.

It presents detailed analysis and solid evidence needed for effective decision-making on a number of critical social and economic issues. It also presents key policy recommendations to support the Secretary-General's initiatives in response to COVID-19 and help the international community to navigate the policy choices ahead. Individual policy briefs are also available here.

More Policy Briefs by UN DESA