Policy Coherence for Sustainability Transformations. Moving beyond technocratic solutions in the governance of differing SDG agendas.

Abstract

In this panel we aim to critically debate the different governance mechanisms and prevalence of technocratic solutions to achieve policy coherence in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals. This apolitical response to incongruent (i) domestic and international sustainable development agendas, (ii) sectoral (public-private) interests, and (iii) social, economic and environmental goals is unlikely to mitigate the systemic misalignment of actors, institutions and national governments who are driven by different types of (economic/political) information, incentives and development rhetorics. The research papers in this panel provide substantive input for this debate, and kick-off the discussion between participants and panel members through three guiding questions: How and what SDG interactions are identified in the literature and prioritized domestically and in cross-border policy? What underlying assumptions steer the development rhetorics and policy instruments of donor and recipient countries? Through which processes can actors, institutions and governments be informed and incentivized to design and implement policies that foster synergies between SDG interactions, and mitigate trade-offs?

Title	Details
Cross-border policy coherence for sustainable development in theory and practice: Lessons from the case of the Netherlands	View Paper Details
Unlocking sustainability transformations through partnerships for the SDGs: opening the black box of nexus governance processes	View Paper Details
Linking the Sustainable Development Goals: Examining the Alignment of Multi-Stakeholder Partnership Supply and Interaction Governance Demand	View Paper Details
Alignment mechanisms for cross-level and cross-sector governance of SDG interactions in East Africa	View Paper Details