Philanthropy is increasingly seen as an important actor and partner in planning and implementation of the SDGs. The Addis Ababa Action Agenda goes beyond setting commitments targeting growth of philanthropic giving, and emphasizes elements of collaborative action: transparency, alignment with national development planning and priorities. Collecting data on philanthropy has long been perceived as challenging as systems for monitoring philanthropic investments were often rudimentary in many places in the world.
International support to implementing integrated national financing frameworks The thematic chapter of the 2019 FSDR provides guidance to countries on how to operationalize integrated national financing frameworks for sustainable development. Such frameworks allow them to strengthen their financing policies in support of sustainable development. They are a tool to implement the Addis Ababa Action Agenda at the country level. The international community offers a wide range of support initiatives to help countries strengthen their financing policies.
IATF and Expert Meeting on the thematic chapter of the 2019 FSDR: National Financing Strategies for the SDGs
Introduction and opening discussion
In their negotiation at the 2018 ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development follow-up (FfD Forum) Member states agreed on several recommendations put forward by the Task Force, such as the recognition that proper interpretation of fiduciary duty for long-term investors should include all material impacts on returns that drive long-term performance of investments. They also called on the Task Force to further analyze, based on existing studies, the relationship between environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing and returns.
Date: 16 November 2017 (8.45 a.m. to 1.45 p.m.)
Venue: Conference room 8, United Nations Headquarters, New York.
Agenda of the meeting (pdf).
The Inter-agency Task Force held two technical meetings on questions of measuring international public financing flows and development cooperation efforts, including to discuss the OECD proposal for a new measure of development finance, provisionally called Total Official Support for Sustainable Development (TOSSD). The meetings provided occasion to discuss critical perspectives on the proposal and to compare and contrast the scope and methodologies behind the proposed TOSSD measure against the monitoring of FfD commitments by the Task Force.
The Financing for Development agenda has emphasized the importance of long-term “stable private financial flows to developing countries” since the Monterrey Consensus (para 25.) Indeed, the need for long-term investment to achieve the SDGs is estimated to be in the trillions of dollars. At the same time, there has been a growing focus on the importance incorporating environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in investing. The Addis Ababa Action Agenda brings these two strands together, emphasizing that sustainability and stability of the financial system are mutually reinforcing.
The Financing for Development outcomes all stress the importance of improving national tax systems and enhancing revenue. Both Monterrey Consensus and Doha Declaration address the question of return of stolen assets.
As part of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, Member States committed to a new social compact. This compact contains two components: a commitment to deliver social protection systems and measures for all, including floors; and a package of essential public services. While there is some overlap of these two areas, social protection generally refers to cash transfers and social insurance, such as adequate pensions for older persons, and essential public services include the provision of basic social services, such as health care and education.
